Monday....

Hello, Friends!
We had a wonderful time last night having a friends and family meal. Any holiday is a good excuse to
have people over to share food and a good time,as far as I am concerned.
We had cottage pie and colcannon and cupcakes for dessert. Everyone loved the food and over ate!
 Cottage pie is ground beef , celery, onion and gravy made from beef stock,  a tablespoon of tomato paste and  one of Worcestershire sauce . Some add carrot as well. You cook that and then top it with mashed potato and cheese, I use dairy free cheddar  and bake for about half an hour until the potatoes are brown and crisp on top and cheese nicely crisp and melted.
I will put the recipe on my Rock & Roll Cafe blog.
Colcannon is the Irish version of Bubble and Squeak. It is mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage. People thought they wouldn't  like it until they tried  it and none was left over! I will also work on posting that recipe as well.

The weather has been very sunny with few clouds and though chilly, it does seem that spring is on the way.  The equinox is March 21^st.

fool proof !

I am busy today making wasp and hornet nest deterrents. And here is the link where I showed you how to do that a while ago.  Yes, they work 100% and you will not have wasp or hornet nests near your home if you hang them where you do not want those critters to be!

What are you up to today?

Wednesday Haiku

The Old Green Pond is silent;
here the hop of a frog
plumbs the evening silence:
Plop!
...by Basho

Raindrops and Sundry Other Things

Rain,wind and chill were the hallmarks of this week.
Even an evening of freezing temperatures here in April.
Friday has come at last after a busy week of organizing each room of the house as I do each year.
I am not quite done as it takes me longer than most people but soon everything will be weeded out and sorted through , neatened up and refreshed.
The following photos are all taken by me on my Canon Power shot and I am participating in Friday
Foto Friends as I do each week. I really enjoy it and I hope you will join in as well. You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

Raindrops on the bay

Raindrops  and lightning illuminated by street lamp

And raindrops on the big pond

Spring Rain makes bubbles in the little pond

A frosty  kitchen window

Summer ,The Salt pond

Canadian tourists love the Jersey Shore

Evening glow

Sky over the water

Salt Marsh. I love when the water is purple from the sky.

Bay shoreline, clean and clear. I saw a  teeny tiny baby shark here once.Cute as a bug.

April sky with a touch of yellow from the sun

The frozen waterfall on the big pond. From my other Blog, "A Passing Storm"

Wednesday Haiku #16

In my ten-foot bamboo hut this spring,
There is nothing;
There is everything!

haiku by Yamaguchi Sodō (1642 -1716)

Against the chilly sky, washed
grey with dawn, A single
pine-tree on the peak is drawn.

Haiku by Gyodai















That flight of Egrets
if they gave no cry,
Would be a streak of snow
 across the sky.

haiku by Yamazaki Sokan (1464-1552)

A Little Fountain You Can Make

This is a re-posting of an old article.from July 2012 .
 This is great feng shui for  your home also!

You could  make a small "spring" that will attract birds and small animals and provide good "chi" to your environment.

You need a heavy duty plastic bucket or galvanized tub etc...not too deep, a little pond pump.. they cost around 10-35 dollars.. some wide metal meshing called hardware cloth ,rocks and pebbles and you have the makings.

Bury the bucket in the ground. and place the small pump inside .. it should come with a long tube so that the water can splash above the little "spring". Heads usually can be bought or come  with it to create various looks for the fountain.
Place the pump  in the bottom, use a flat rock to elevate it if you need to and fill it with water. Plug it in and test it.
The take the hardware cloth and place it over the top of the bucket which is buried in the ground. You will have to make a hole in it for a short piece of the tube to poke through a little.
Bend back the sharp ends!
Now, cover the mesh with small pebbles and rock in a pretty fashion..and make it look as if its part of the landscape.
Add flowers or plants around it.
 Now when you turn on your *spring* it will look as if water is bubbling up out of the ground. The water will bubble up, and splash down thru the stones and mesh into the bucket to be recycled up again.



Here is a version.. this one has a large fountaining effect..but you can adjust the flow so its not so huge. If its a simple little bubbling effect birds and small animals will come to drink and you will love watching them.

Inside/Outside & Haiku #1

Winter rages with its gales and storms but inside it is warm and cozy.

Hot soup makes stormy weather easier to take!

The kitchen stays warm and toasty while the wind blusters outside.

  Jane Austen said  it best:

"Ah, there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort!"

And bluster is what it does. Full of sound and fury while snow dumps and dazzles all around .

       Judge Roy Bean of the old west once said,

"And finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow. "

"Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”
― Mary Oliver

“All Heaven and Earth
Flowered white obliterate...
Snow...unceasing snow”
...   Japanese Haiku by Hashin

Your comments mean a lot.Won't you please let me hear from you?

Surgery Tomorrow!

Some new photos I took. The outdoor ones were taken from the front door.

the little pond in need of grooming

Also i wanted to ask you to let me know which template design you like best.
I have been fiddling with the old blogger design, which I like much better personally although it does not allow for photos in comments. But, it does allow greater freedom of design I think,
  Please compare it to this design and let me know which you like best?
HERE is the old style blog set up.

This is something I never did share with you. I make blogs for special occassions. It takes only a little time and its something a person can save and have forever.  I made them for my kids and grand-kids   but want to extend it for others too.

HERE is the one I made for my daughter this year.  I thought you might enjoy seeing it.

Big Bucket of Mountain pinks

The hospital just called and I have to be there at 6:00AM tomorrow morning to register in for my surgery which should take about 3 hours.
I will be in the hospital for 3 days and 10 days of rehab after that might be necessary but I am hoping I can just come home and get therapy here.

 I don't want to leave Garfield alone too long as he is old. My daughter and friends will look in on him and be sure he has some company each day and fresh water and food, so that's good. Still he is stuck like glue to me and this will be hard on him. I am really hoping that I can come home and do rehab some other way besides being in a rehab facility. We will see.

Garfield napping

Since I don't have a laptop or fancy phone, I will ask my daughter to post some updates for me to let you know how I came through.

 I also want to tell you all that I do so value your friendship. I have come to love you all as good friends, even unseen, from reading your thoughts, sharing your lives and photos of your families.


You have become dear to me and I have come to count on your concern and prayers, which I also return to you.

Ponytail girl

 I leave with this pondered in my heart:
 "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at the last." 
He will see me through this in whatever way is best.
Thank you all for your love and concern. It means the world to me.

 

Black Eyed Susan

My black eyed Susans

Black eyed Susans are blooming like crazy under the front window.
They have been one of my favorite flowers since I was a child.  Behind a place where I lived there was a field full of them.
After a while these perennial plants take over and it's okay with me if they do.
I love their bright and cheerful faces.
Have a bright and cheerful weekend.