The Rockport Garden Club had their Spring Social last evening and what a gathering of members appeared! Lovely flowers spread all around making the evening full of beauty. Many entered the picture as we had hors d'oeuvres and a sip of wine. There were several friends dressed up in black and just looked ravishing. (This is the first time I've had so many photos taken of me!) The tables were set for a fabulous meal which included chicken, salad, mashed potatoes and bread. Oh, and I must not forget the delicious selection of desserts. I once again WON at the game LEFT-RIGHT-CENTER in a matter of minutes!
The second year in a row. It certainly emerged as one outstanding evening with friends gathering for one great time.
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OH, MY GOSH! Take a look at this! Those flowers are simply the best and totally beautiful arrangements. I'm going to give Linda Sink a really big hug for creating this stunning scene and gorgeously arranging the flowers so masterfully. Way to go, Linda.
You are the FLOWER MASTER of all time! Colleen and I painted at the Bausch house today, but not before I was given these flowers as a gift. They landed in our garden! Colleen shared a few cards that she created for her family. I'll bet this took her five minutes to paint. Then she showed me what she was working on. One fabulous painting indeed. And then here is mine! I totally dislike and have a whole lot of trouble painting landscapes. I prefer flowers and still life. It was a great day to paint with a good friend. Those flowers are very much appreciated and look wonderful in the garden.
It's NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DAY today! So I sped right out and picked up some cookies. Found "Itsy Bitsy Crispy Cookies" and came home to quickly taste them! Leon put them in a sack taking them to his medical appointment at the hospital today. He's going to give them to the wonderful nurses and doctors that have been helping him. This celebration lasts all day so go out and get a taste of a
Chocolate Chip Cookie - and enjoy! It's 7 pm and Leon and I just got home from the hospital. He has been there for 10 hours!!! Had his chemo for 7 hours then lab tests showed very high potassium levels in his blood and was sent to ER for another 3 hours. Leon called me around 4:00 and I went right over to the hospital with all sorts of things going through my mind. It took that 3 hours of treatment to get potassium levels NORMAL. Great seeing that smile on his face when I opened the door to his room. He's got to go back in the morning to check the potassium again. There is one more CHEMO treatment in 21 days and hopefully we are all done with hospitals. His face looks normal! Miracle!
Members of the Rockport Garden Club are working away for our plant sale on June 1st. Look at all those great pieces to take a place in our yard. They are working feverishly to provide the best greens ever. Way to go, ladies!
Guess who found a new garden tool to make life easier getting rid of unwanted plants. Steps 1-2-3 and up comes those horrible weeds. Easy! Takes no time at all. A tool all gardeners should have to get started in their planting. Now, we stop at another nursery and admire those lovely flowers. This is what SPRING brings to the Bausch house.
It couldn't have been a more perfect day to lunch at Kate's house - with tulips making a statement. She served the most scrumptious soup and then we had the main course of crab cakes and potato salad. Leon enjoyed the soup because Kate had a frozen bowl ready for me to take home to him! Kate has been redoing her whole house and this lovely piece sits in the kitchen. I think it's cool! Flowers and plantings and new trees addressed the backyard. I got to see trees she added and certainly shows off the area well. Thanks, Kate, for one great lunch and a look at all the work you have done.
Can't wait for party time! Look what Diana sent back with Bill and JoAnn from Lucca, Italy. They just returned and delivered a white chocolate heart from our dear Italian friend and candy store owner, Diana. As well, the candy tin was loaded with different kinds of those fabulous treats! I don't know whether to dive in and eat my favorite chocolate or simply admire the skill at which it was made. It is a true friend who knows the chocolate I love and will surprise me every year with those goodies! One day I will return to Lucca and buy you a glass of wine over dinner that you so deserve, Diana.
I learn so much from friends. Just yesterday I sat reading through FACEBOOK postings and discovered things I knew nothing about. I learned what "fascinator" meant from Carol! It's a style of hat that many were wearing at the Kentucky Derby this year. Isn't this neat? Your dogs never leave you. They are so comfortable in their sleeping quarters because they lie near you. What a grand photo, Christa. Thanks for sharing it. I found this article about Iowa on FACEBOOK. Iowa is where we grew up. Where we are from. The state we will always cherish.
April 28 at 7:30 AM · I was recently a part of a conversation with a woman who took some passive-aggressive digs at people who live in Iowa. Without getting into it, I got the impression that she thought anyone who lives here is uneducated and inferior. I thought I would share this again to educate those who choose to be ignorant. I live in Iowa. You don't know much about it therefore you make some assumptions. You throw out words like "overalls and tractors" like it is an insult when those "overalls and tractors" are the backbone of this country to provide food and so much more for every family. Let me start by saying this: I'm not from Iowa. I'm a PA girl. My TV news career took me from the keystone state to Texas to North Carolina. When my agent told me about a job in Iowa, I'll admit, I did the whole: "ok, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois" while closing my eyes trying to envision the map of the US. I didn't know much about Iowa and its people, but I quickly learned that they are different. It's the wave everyone gives you when you're driving - their way of saying, "hey how are you? Have a good day." It's the neighborhoods with a ton of bikes in one driveway like it's a childhood from the 80s... It's the neighborhood BBQs with everyone going driveway to driveway to say hi... It's the way every neighbor looks out for every child... It's the small town celebrations once the temperature hits 40... It's the way businesses close early on a Friday night for high school football... It's all of the people who thank a veteran and shake their hand when they see them at HyVee... It's the sound of a pep band inside a packed high school gym... It's the feeling of walking through a local farmer's market on that first spring day... It's the way communities rally around one of their own... It's a college kid jokingly tweeting he needs beer money and ends up raising $3.15 million for children and families... It's casseroles showing up on your front door when you're in the hospital... It's strangers throwing you up in prayer during your dark times... It's the old school goodness of taking your family to a state fair... It's the entire church congregation showering your kiddo with gifts and prayers the day they receive their First Communion... It's showing up for strangers to rebuild towns when a natural disaster strikes... It's a packed Village Inn on a Sunday after church where you will run into one of our US Senators... It's family dinners where everyone talks about their day... It's the weekend trip to a beautiful lake or the mighty Mississippi... It's the friendly banter whether it's a Hawks, Cyclones or Panthers' state.... It's the summer night by the firepit toasting s'mores... It's the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets… It's the people who rise to the occasion every time you ask for help... It's people allowing an outspoken, loudmouth, former news lady outsider from PA to advocate for their children. This is Iowa. Do we have things to work on? ABSOLUTELY. Every day is a chance to do better. I get pretty defensive when people want to throw shade on a state and people who have been so good to an "outsider." When I left TV news, everyone assumed I would leave Iowa. Nah. This big city girl and her big city husband could not think of a better place to raise our family. All of the good parts of my childhood, all of the nostalgia...it's alive and well in Iowa. I wasn't born in Iowa. But I got here as fast as I could. by Amanda Goodman |