Still sitting around...

But I'm doing a little. Ed had brought home a cabbage on one of his grocery forays. 

I scrounged up a couple of ground turkey patties and some leftover mushroom rice from the freezer and I had all the ingredients for cabbage rolls. At least half a recipe. I usually end up with enough for an army. 

My appetite is still leaning towards salads thank goodness. 

Huckleberries are blooming and smell so good. 

Aunt Dee used to make pies out of the tiny berries. 

Since Mary Grace and Ryan have ordered Bark Boxes to be delivered to their dogs monthly, their old toys had to be donated to less fortunate dogs. 

Guess who. Truffles is exhausted after playing with them. 

Toby loves this ball.  This month's Bark Box was baseball themed. Oh , brother. Now for the cuteness. 

Brody discovering a family secret. 

Whether we call them boiled cookies or smokey oats, they are the best. 

Mother's Day

Well here is what the day is all about!

The sweetest mom on earth. 

And the sweetest daughters! 

Met at Jan and Tommy's for lunch. 

Many flowers and gifts. 

I was just happy to get out and see everyone. The tulips Doris gave me still looked pretty. 

Got to go to MG & Ryan's for a hug from Dupree yesterday. Did I mention that Chris is home? 

Yes and all that implies. He wanted to clean and deodorize his car. The only logical next step is to pour a 40 pond bag of baking soda in it, right?

He has been helping get the house ready to sell though. 

Sick and tired..,

Of being sick and tired. These guys are hanging with me. 

Friends and family have been so great bringing food, flowers and reading material. 

Enough about that. I'm so much better and will be out soon. In the mean time how about a couple of pics from Indiana? 

Jan says they have the best parks there. 

Isn't he a doll?

Hello from the other side

So...I've been sick now for over a week. It started last Thursday. Mystery headache and nausea. Managed to get ivy to get her wisdom teeth out Friday and left her in Tripp's care. She was ok. After two trips to ER and two trips to Doctor, they finally decided it was viral encephalitis, cause to be determined. West Nile seems most likely. Waiting on results. 

Nothing much to say ( other than my living room light fixture is disgusting and needs replacing)

 

is I have such a great bunch of family and friends. Ed has run the house like a champ. Everyone has been so helpful and thoughtful. 

Here I'll post an event I haven't shown back in better days. Book Club in April at Pam's house. 

Love that saturated green. Always my favorite. 

She just floated native azalea and Ivy in this gorgeous bowl. 

These little crackers had olives (my favorite), cheese and tomatoes. 

Bev and Kathy 

It was so good. That sauce was so simple on the pork loin. She mixed red pepper jelly and barbecue sauce. Spicy and sweet. 

Sue, Pam and Priscilla. 

Maybe my week of fasting did some good...whew! We enjoyed discussing Freud's Mistress. How can smart women be so dumb when it comes to men?

Blimps, gumbo and peas

Ok...I love blimps. I was driving along the other day and bam...a blimp. Flying by our famous Madison landmark. 

Got to do the flowers for little Rachel's prom after party. She was always the little  one of the kids! 

Got to help Amy again this year at a conference at Beau Rivage.  

Great view. Amy gave me her gulf view. 

Never got to go out there! It rained all week and we were so busy. 

This was my view for most of the week. 

Here I am hunkered down behind the desk at a reception. 

Ok. And this was our reward lunch before heading home. 

My favorite thing on the coast. 

Mom and I stopped at Freshway today and guess what they had!!  Fresh English peas. Only available for a couple of weeks here in the warm south. So good. Totally different from canned or frozen. 

The ending

MmCleaning out is done. Items are priced. Peace is made with letting go of my Art Deco living room set. No one loved it but me. I really think that is a testament to my good taste, not the other way around. 

From the late 1920's to early 30's, Art Deco spanned the bridge from stuffy Victorian to the truly Modern period. 

My set sported a sofa, ladies chair and winged gentleman's chair. 

My goal was to find someone who loved it like I did. Thanks to Mary Grace and Ryan who hauled it to Sophie and Paul's house for Fondren Flea, a neighborhoodwide yard sale held on Zippety Doo Dah weekend. We started early. 

In true McNeil style , we all brought food. Doughnuts, pigs in blankets and sausage balls. We really should have talked. So we offered surplus doughnuts to customers. 

The sun rises on the offerings. A few things were snatched back. I kept getting sentimental. My mom's leather car coat???  Mostly though, we all let go. 

Sleepy cashiers. I told them to mind their chins. 

Ryan attracting customers in the chair. 

Near the end of the day a sweet young lady came by and fell I love with my furniture!!! She was a physical therapist who just moved to the area and was excited to buy it!! I'm so happy.               On another repurposing note. 

This furniture has moved from neighbor to neighbor. From Candy to Joyce to Candy to another neighbor. I'm sad to say this time waste management picked it up. Got Ed in the cleaning mode. 

Found two perfectly good Palm Pilots. Yikes.  What to do with those ??

Wow.   Look at the space. Candy and I participated in another spring ritual. 

Moore's nursery. 

It was gorgeous. Then met Anna for lunch at Local 463. 

Candy got the special Royal Red salad. 

Got my usual veggie plate. Toby got a fresh bag of food. 

He guards it until Ed puts it away.