Two new Joys

These are gardenias that I didn't think would continue to grow let alone bloom. I have it in our bathroom, with a north facing window. 

There are actually eight buds on the plant so we can look forward to more as the summer goes on. They smell fabulous.  We love them.

 

This is my next pleasure. I found this fabric and made a new iron board cover. I really like to too and it was painfully easy.  There are so many fabulous fabrics out there and so little time...... 

Cookies in a Pot

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter flavored extract
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and flavorings and mix well. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to batter and mix well. CHILL 3-4 hours or overnight before using. Roll cookies out approximately 1/4 inch thick and insert cookie sticks at least 1/3 to 1/2 way into cookie. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes. (Mine was a slow oven and I turned it up to 365 degrees and three on a sheet took 20 minutes.) This dough keeps well in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Decorate as desired. Display 3-7 cookies in a 6 inch clay pot (depending on size of cookie). Weigh pot down with dried beans and cut a circle of Styrofoam to fit snugly into top. Add ribbons and enjoy.

These were easy to cook. I had cookie cutters from JoAnn's or Micheals and I got shiskabob skewers from Wal-Mart they had 3 sizes and I got the longest. They were near the paper plates and bar-b-que things. I made sure they were a little over 1/4 inch thick but not 1/2, those were too heavy. I pushed the stickes almost to the top and hopefully in the middle front to back. I made 54 this large size and made 3 times the recipe.
Laura the icing went well. I made just a powdered sugar and milk, with a bit of almond flavoring because the vanilla made it a muddy color. Then I
made royal icing for the decorations. The cookies
aren't super sweet so the icing adds the sweetness.













I planted grass in a large flower pot and stuck the cookies in. That means the sticks come out with dirt on them not the best idea. Something else would have been better. I just wrapped them with saran wrap. Many sisters took several... (hadn't planned on that either.) It was very fun to do and I would love to do that again.

Bloom (wherever) You are Planted

As many of you know we went down to south Texas to visit my folks. Mom is 86 now and still doing quite well. She is somewhat forgetful but was able to learn and then play a couple of new games with us. "Up words" is one game they play regularly and bridge and of course golf. So that is pretty good.

An alternate form of transportation, but they walk at least 2 times a day. They walk quite fast and go all over the park.






Wayne plays pool every day, he is quite good and really likes it. They live within their income and are very careful with their finances.












Things that grow in McAllen are all citrus, grapefruit(Texas Ruby Red), oranges, lemons and limes, papaya, and the favorite AVOCADOS, not to mentions figs and gardenias.













Their home looks just about the same.







The first full day after we got there, LaVar woke up in the morning saying he wanted to go to South Texas College and as them if they wanted a Economics teacher. There is a whole story with that but the short version is we happened on a guy that was elated to talk with us and yes, they were actually looking for a teacher with Dad's creditials and he gave us all a tour of the campus and told us all kinds of wonderful things about the place. I didn't get a picture of that campus, but he also told us that Pan Am was also looking for someone and we could also check them out.....






Mom went to church with us and said as she always does, that she enjoyed it..... So it seems that we feel we should be moving to South Texas, we have been working on getting things paired down yet again and plan on getting our house on the market this next week. This is a terrible time to sell, there are a flood of homes in our area that are for sale, etc. But we will see.
As I see it, if we have to stay here in this gorgious area, near the beach for at least one more year, LaVar making good money, I will not complain. You are all still invited to come, we would more than love that.




On the other hand to be with a great lady, friend, and my mom...... that would, no will, be just great!! Thus the title, wherever, we are planted.