Monday, April 29, 2019

Daily She Shed ~ Garden Patch


At the back of my She Shed, I planted my tomato plants.  This is the same spot they were
in last year, but this year I added a few herb plants and two new perennials.  I added more
garden soil and a nice thick layer of mulch too.  I found a place where I could order some
wicker edging like they have in English gardens, and it is on its way now.   I am very
anxious for it to get here!  I will share it with you when it arrives.




The herbs I planted are, chives, lemon thyme, Italian parsley, oregano,
rosemary and sage.  Back in Idaho I had an herb garden right off the back
porch and I loved being able to snip off fresh herbs for cooking.  After a
chive plant is in the ground for a year, it will start producing lovely little
blue flower clusters in the spring.  So pretty to see.

Saturday I went to Lowe's to pick up more garden soil and mulch.  I
slid a bag of the soil onto my flat bed cart.  As I did this, a very nice
man (who was not an employee) came up to me and asked if I needed
any help.  I thanked him and said I got this one, and then he asked if I
needed anything else.  I admitted that I wanted some bark mulch and
he said fine, what color?  We had to walk to the back of the lot for the
mulch and he loaded up two bags for me.  This was not a pick-up either,
he was just being a great guy helping out a lady.  It made me so happy
to know that chivalry is not dead!  I'm not a girl who wants to do 
everything myself.  I know my limitations, and I am also a girly girl 
and know that men love to help out a girl in need.  Viva la difference!

Bit Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Friday, April 26, 2019

Daily She Shed ~ A New Rose Bush



I purchased a rose bush for a small garden plot next to the shed.  It's 
a Marchessa Boccella rose.  It will be a smaller bush with perpetually
blooming pink buds.  It was grown at the Antique Rose Emporium 
up in Brenham, but I purchased mine from my favorite nursery here
in town, Four Seasons.  I decided to put it in a large pot, and so far
the Marchessa seems content.

I have never been to the Antique Rose Emporium, but I have seen
photos and must head up there one day soon.  It's my kind of place,
that's for sure.  They do have a website and you can order from there
if you like.  I will say, they sell a lot of roses, and several are already
sold out.  Here is the link:


This weekend I am headed back to Four Seasons.  I want to purchase
another Jasmine plant.  I love the fragrance so much!  I need mulch
and more garden soil too.  The weather outside is currently so lovely
that I hate to go indoors.  Have a wonderful Friday, and I will check
back in with you over the weekend.  

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Daily She Shed ~ Tomatoes, Herb Garden, New Swing



I planted two tomato plants in the shed garden.  They are Better Boy's.  I only
planted two because while I love fresh tomatoes, David does not.  I have high hopes
for these plants, and we will be tracking their progress in the coming weeks.  I
will be planting some herbs in this plot too, thyme, chives, parsley and sage.
 I already replanted some rosemary that wintered over from last year.  

I want to add a dwarf Meyer lemon tree and a dwarf fig too, just across from this
garden patch.  I plan to head over to my favorite garden center to pick these up
this weekend.  

The exciting news is that I received a notice that the windows, shutters and
flower boxes for the shed have been shipped.  I can hardly wait for them to
arrive!  The other thing I ordered was a new porch swing for the veranda,
to replace the one we have which has been well used and well loved, but
has seen better days.  I am replacing it with an all weather wicker one in 
white.  It's really charming and I'm excited that it too is on it's way to
Victoria.  


Here is a pic of the old swing.  You can see a dark spot on the back of the
swing, left side.  This is where the rot developed and then continued to
spread.  So, bye dear swing.  You certainly gave us a great deal of
enjoyment.  

More tomorrow!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley




Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Daily She Shed ~ Volunteers Welcome


Petunias are supposed to be annuals, but this little petunia had other plans.
Last spring and summer, I had two hanging baskets filled with petunias
on either side of the doors to the She Shed.  They were stunning, but 
since they are annuals, they just have a short life span.  However, this
pink petunia has planted itself in a pot that was once empty.  It seems
determined to grow, and I am so happy it is here that I will give it all
the tender love and care it needs to make it through a few more
seasons.  I will keep you posted on it's progress!

 Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

The Daily She Shed


Welcome to the first edition of the Daily She Shed.  This spring I have
decided to spend all my energy on my She Shed.  I have been gathering 
up ideas for quite a while and now is the time to put them into action.

Here is an early morning photo caught between the rain drops, of the
jasmine I planted last year.  It has come back very vigorously and the 
fragrance is heavenly.  I am so excited about this.

I ordered windows and shutters and windows boxes.  It will be so
wonderful to have light and fresh air streaming into the shed.  The
windows come with screens, so the bugs can stay outside, thank you
very much.  I am planting an herb garden too.  

You are welcome to follow me along each day as I share all of my
work with you.  It will be a labor of love, and I am hoping the 
garden fairies will provide assistance.  

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley


Thursday, April 18, 2019

Breathing Well Again and Blue and White Eggs


I want to thank everyone for all the kind words of encouragement and
get well wishes.  It's been a very rough couple of weeks, but within the 
past few days my breathing has become far less labored.  I was so afraid
to sleep at night because my breathing became even more difficult when
I would lay my head down on my pillow.  I spent so many nights pacing
the floor.  My breathing isn't 100% yet, but it has greatly improved and 
I am able to walk around and not feel winded.  I cannot begin to express
the relief I am feeling right now.  I plan to do all I can to sustain this 
lung capacity and to continue to improve.

Enough about my health issues, let's discuss something more light
hearted.  Here are the decoupaged eggs I have been working on.  I
took paper cocktail napkins by Caspari, carefully cut out the designs, 
and pasted them on the wooden eggs with Mod Podge.  It was time
consuming, but fun too!  While I have also decorated eggs in the
more traditional pastel colors, it was fun to branch out and find a 
new way to express my love of blue and white.




This project seemed daunting at first, but as usual, practice makes
everything easier.  The tough part was the flimsiness of the paper and
I had to be careful to work with a light hand because the Mod Podge
made it easy to tear.  




I am happy with the way they turned out and I think these eggs will
remain in this little dish all year round now.  I am joining Susan over
at Between Naps on the Porch for the last Tablescape Thursday.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Recovering From a Serious Illness


It's been a while since I logged in.  Unfortunately, I have been quite
ill and just had enough strength to get through a minimum of 
social media.  While I won't go into any of the details now, I will
tell you that my breathing became more difficult and I started to have
some heart involvement.  To be honest, I was scared.  There are things
I still want to accomplish in this lifetime and I am not ready to give
them up.  We are getting this situation under control, but I will be
taking things easy for a while.   Consequently, I will be taking a few
more days off to heal and restore.  Frankly, my whole life will be 
changing.  I will be back and I will be checking in with Facebook
and Instagram.  Sometimes life can throw you a curve and you can 
either give into it, or you can fight back.  I choose to fight back.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

I Love Vintage Cookbooks


A few weeks ago I was researching on the internet about a restaurant
in Winnetka, Illinois, where my parents and I used to enjoy dinner out.
It was a well loved restaurant called the Indian Trail.  If you ever saw the
movie Ferris Bueller's Day off, you saw the principal standing in front
of this restaurant, looking for Ferris. 

Here is the scene from that film:



Sadly, the restaurant is now gone, but the memories live on for
me and for others.  I did manage to find a recipe for their delicious 
salad dressing.

While hunting for this particular restaurant, I also started to look
for others.  That is when I discovered The Ford Treasury of Famous
Eating Places.  There are two volumes printed back in the early 1950's.
The Ford Motor Company produced these books and naturally also 
showed off their vehicles in the process.  The books are divided into
regions of the US, and are beautifully illustrated.



Of course, all the old inns of the northeast are prominently displayed.
So fun to see and to read the recipes too.



I was thrilled to see Pocono Manor listed.  This is where my beloved
parents spent their honeymoon.  I have the brochures they saved too.
The Pocono Manor is still in business today.




I always loved the Pump Room in Chicago.  It has always been in the
Ambassador East Hotel, just a couple of blocks away from my Aunt's
house.  So many famous people have dined here.  David and I flew to
Chicago for a visit back in 1995 and celebrated our anniversary here.




This is another of my favorite Chicago area restaurants, Fanny's in
Evanston.  I was born in Evanston hospital, so it's a town dear to my
heart, and is also the home of Northwestern University.  

Fanny's was a beloved restaurant too.  Like the Pump Room, it was
visited by many, many famous people.  Unlike the Pump Room, it had
a more homey atmosphere.  The spaghetti and meat sauce was very
memorable.  Kraft foods tried to buy Fanny's recipe for her sauce, but she 
would never sell it.  Here is a link about Fanny's I hope you will enjoy.
It tells the story of Fanny's humble beginnings and her great success.


Some of the recipes in old cookbooks may seem boring by today's 
standards, but we can make new discoveries of recipes long
forgotten.  I have only been able to find two of these treasuries and
I am not certain if there are more, but these two have been fun to
read and to enjoy the colorful vintage graphics.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley



Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Celebrate April!


I love April!  It's always been one of my favorite months.
I am so happy to see the sun shining today, knowing there are some
flowers waiting for me to plant.  I stopped at my favorite garden
center on Saturday and picked up some Vinca for pots on the patio,
a new rose bush, and a large rosemary bush too.  Don't you just
love the aroma of fresh rosemary?  I sure do.




Although some of the venues up at Round Top, and Warrenton, and in
between have been up for over a week now, this is the opening week of
Marburger Farm and the Big Red Barn.  I will be there with camera in
hand so you can follow along and see what I find.



I am hoping that we are now all out from under the clouds and the cold
weather, and that the sunshine treats us to many happy days ahead.  It's
a whole new month, a blank canvas, so let's make it a great one!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

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