Oh Look! It's The Flowering Hodgepodge!

This Week, In The Backyard

Flowering Crab

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1. When is your next big deadline? What's it for?

That's what's missing, a deadline!  I now know why it is difficult for me to get  housework and de-cluttering done (or started). I'm not working with a deadline. As one who works much, much better under pressure, I need to start setting deadlines for myself. Hall closet: Deadline Friday. Clothes closet: Deadline May 30, etc. etc. Knowing me, this will help a lot.  Thank you, Joyce!

2. May is National Barbecue Month. Do you prefer cooking indoors or out? What's the best thing about a barbecue? What's the last thing you cooked on an outdoor grill?


I love cooking outdoors, and we wait several cold winter months to do it. The best thing about a BBQ is the taste.  Everything seems to taste better on a charcoal grill. I think it annoys Mr. C. when I say that I like the taste of lighter fluid. He 'patiently' explains that it's the charcoal flavor I like. :-)) I think the last thing cooked on our grill was chicken.

 Grilled Cheese With Basil Pesto

I found this while searching for 'grill' in my photo files. Check out my recipe, from a previous post. It's an amazing sandwich, although I did not 'grill' it on the charcoal grill.

Note: Homemade white bread is best, of course.

On one slice of bread I arranged enough pepper jack cheese to cover every square inch of bread. We always have pepper jack on hand, for it's one of our favorites. On the other slice I spread the fresh basil pesto liberally (quite uncharacteristically, I might add). On top of that I arranged fresh, warm-from-the-garden tomato slices.
I then melted a little olive oil and a little butter in the skillet, turned it down to low, set the sandwich in the skillet, and covered it with a lid.
A few minutes later I flipped the sandwich over and covered it with the lid again.
Two more minutes maybe...enough so that the bread was golden (okay, a little past golden, maybe) and the cheese was partially melted.

3. What is one thing on your "never again" list?

Never again will I drag a carry-on suitcase through an airport or train stations or down sidewalks. If I ever travel again, I will use only a school-type backpack with a couple of changes of clothes in it. You think I'm kidding.

4. What's something that annoys you about people your own age? Something you love about your generation?

Nothing annoys me about people my own age. In fact, even when I was young, people my age (now) were always easier to get along with. People my age (then) always seemed to have something to prove. What I love about my generation is that most of us are more comfortable with life, know how to do things, know how to work, are reliable, don't spend our time keeping track of celebrities, and don't seek or expect wisdom from fools. Also, most of us have mellowed a bit and have figured out which things are truly worth going to battle. Uh, perhaps some of us have mellowed a bit more than others. :-)

5. Lilac, iris, hyacinth, pansy...your favorite purple flower?

I love lilacs and iris, my favorite being the purple iris that came from my mom's garden (or maybe my grandma's garden - via my mom.)

See those lovely roses? They're going to meet my favorite garden tool after they've bloomed this year - RoundUp. Those roses are a weed, totally invasive, and are beautiful for only one week out of the entire year. The rest of the year they are an ugly, thorny thicket that spreads to every surrounding plant and tries to strangle it.

6. Whats a song that always calms you down?

Probably my favorite album is 'Be Thou My Vision,' sacred music by John Rutter.

And, as far as one song that always calms me?  That would be 'The Solid Rock.' It often pops into my mind. And it is truly calming, knowing that regardless of my circumstances, God is in control and is trustworthy. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand!

  My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

  When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

7. What's the last thing you donated?

Clothes. Remember the ones I dragged around the airport in that carry-on? Actually, I have much more that needs to be donated.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Springtime is wonderful this year. The driveway is flanked by wood violets and dandelions, which I love and which look so pretty together.

The bleeding heart is in bloom.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends!

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