OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

Just look at Miles...

He' s looking at me with that look,

like "Did I do that?"

Yep. You did.  Just look at my lawn.

I think somebody had too many 

Beggin' Strips this winter....

Actually, they are starting to fill in nicely.

And Miles just had a spiffy new trim.

I'd take a new picture,

BUT MY BACK WENT OUT TODAY!!!

If anybody has any tips,

or pointers, 

or remedies please let me know!!!!!!

I was vacuuming at work

(our whole office in 7 minutes flat....)

and when I went to lift the vac into the supply closet

I felt a tingle in my spine.

I didn't think too much of it,

but as the night progressed -

so did the pain. 

I can hardly get off my chair

to put weight on my legs!

I am popping Aleve like candy.

I just took 4....

It will be a fun day at work tomorrow.

I can't take the day off,

we already have our receptionist 

taking off for a cortisone shot

for her frozen shoulder,

and a Hygenist leaving 

for another appointment.

(We're all getting old....)

So I'm cleaning kids teeth tomorrow.....

Meanwhile, 

Since this is 

Outdoor Wednesday

I think that  

Susan

@

A Souther Daydreamer

would like me to get to my 

Outdoor contribution.

This is my Garden as of last Saturday.

It's greening up by leaps & bounds!

I'm excited.

I'm also zone 4 

so hang in there guys

it will be at it's peak 

Mid-July!

If it isn't ripped out of the ground first.

We are currently experiencing

30 mph winds!

Robyn

Blue Monday & MET MONDAY!

Okay, Let me gloat a little bit...

This is what I received as 

my 

Mother's Day Present!

This pretty new umbrella!

It was supposed to be a simple surprise!

Just a quick swap-out 

from last years 7 foot

to this year's 9 footer.

But of course, 

the pole diameter

had to be a smidgeon bigger.

So Grampa had to help

fit the pipe into the table 

and the stand.

But it was a glorious surprise afterall,

because I wasn't thinking about

an Umbrella at all -  yet this year.

(Remember I'm 40-something and I have no memory...)

Last year I looked all over for a nice 

fresh and bright Umbrella

only to find drab, dull & plain.

How sweet of Jacob to remember!

& 

Grampa & Gramma 

to help him out....

Me and my Mom had a very nice day.

Filled with flowers, and fun

and food.

Visit Sally @ Smiling Sally

for Blue Monday

&

Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Met Monday

Robyn

Pink Saturday Visit to the Greenhouse!

Yea! It's Greenhouse Time!

I couldn't wait to share 

this with you guys.

Shhh! I even let Jacob skip school

so that he could come along.

(Don't tell anyone - 

he had a headache afterall.

And with this H1N1 Swine Flu scare 

and all - he probably should stay home- LOL)

This is one of  my all time favorites - 

The heart-shaped Ivy.

This is  (a little bit of) what I brought home...

(How did this picture get out of sequence???)

This is a hint - I'd like this for Mother's Day...

I see Jacob and Grampa are discussing it...

(Hey Guys, I don't see the box being placed on the cart.)

I thought I better post some pink flowers,

afterall it is Pink Saturday!

Don't you just love this cloche 

and 

the cute lily of the valley inside?

How about these????

I thought of Sally and Aaron and DaisyRae and 

all of you Doxie lovers when I saw this - too cute!

More  G. Wolff tera cotta.  

I just love it.

How could you choose?

Did you know that Paula has her own  line

of peanuts and BBQ seasonings?

There's Always Thyme for....

Usually these little purses are made from gum wrappers...

but this is from flower seed packets, etc.

Can you imagine the Tablescape 

with these cute little gems?

Here's another Mother's Day hint - 

This birdbath is awfully cute!

(Hint- Hint!)

I told Jacob that he could make these for me.....

The afternoon ended with this rainbow!

Don't forget to visit

Beverly 

@

How Sweet the Sound

for the list of 

Pink Saturday participants.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Robyn

Foodie Friday! - You'll Want To Slow Down For This One!

The Famous Turtle Cake

from 

Cafe' Latte

on Grand Avenue

St. Paul, Minnesota!

I've actually made this cake 

many a times.

After searching for 43 minutes

on iPhoto I cannot find a

picture of my cakes.

So I have to confess, 

this is not my photo.

This is from their website.

They offer the recipe for the taking.

So I will share it with you today.

Café Latte’s Famous Turtle Cake 

Cake Ingredients: 

• 1 Egg. 

• 2/3 cup Vegetable oil. 

• 1 cup Buttermilk. 

• 2 cups Flour. 

• 1 3/4 cups Sugar. 

• 1/2 cup Good quality cocoa. 

• 1 tsp. Salt. 

• 1 tbsp. Baking soda. 

• 1 cup Hot coffee 

Frosting: 

• 1/2 cup Milk. 

• 1 cup Sugar. 

• 6 tbsp. Butter 

• 2 cups Good-quality semisweet chocolate chips. 

• 3/4 cup Caramel. 

• 1 1/2 cups Toasted pecans. 

Prepare oven and pans:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans. 

Cover each bottom with disk of parchment paper. 

To make cake:  In bowl, combine egg, oil and buttermilk.  In large separate bowl, mix 

together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Gradually add wet ingredients to dry 

until well mixed.  Gradually add hot coffee.  Scrape batter into prepared pans. 

To bake cake:  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes 

out clean.  Let cake rest in pans for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto wire racks to cool. 

To make frosting:  Mix sugar and milk in saucepan.  Add butter.  Bring to a boil. 

Remove from heat.  Add chocolate chips to pan.  Using wire whisk, mix until smooth. If 

frosting is too thick or grainy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons hot coffee. 

To assemble cake:  Place one cooled cake layer, top-side down, on cake plate.  Spread 

with one-third of frosting, pushing it out gently from edges to make a petal effect. 

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans,  Drizzle with 1/4 cup caramel.  Add next layer, again 

top-side down.  Repeat frosting and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans and drizzle with 1/4 cup 

caramel.  And final layer top-side up, frost with petal effect and finish with remaining 

pecans and caramel. 

Call your friends and enjoy!

Everyone absolutely loves this cake

and I know that you will too!

It is so decadent, so rich,

so carmel-y and chocolate-y...

Just give it a try - 

you won't regret it!

For other delicious  cake recipes

visit

Gollum

@

Designs by Gollum

for

 Foodie Friday!

Robyn

Outdoor Wednesday! Planting Seeds!

I am so happy!

I actually have tulips blooming

this year!

Usually, the bunnies 

munch them off

before I get a chance to see them!

Maybe it's because

my 

Stone Rabbit 

is standing guard.....

The Fritillaries are spreading beautifully...

We took our chances & planted a few seeds this weekend.

Jacob scuffed the seed coats with the rasp.

We soaked them in water while 

we went for a quick drive...

We planted both varieties in the sunny side garden - 

with love.

Our fingers are crossed.

Hopefully we'll have good news 

to share with you this summer!

For more great outdoor adventures 

and beautiful gardens

visit

Susan

@

A Southern Daydreamer!

Robyn

Blue Monday & MET MONDAY!

Thanks to

Sally 

@ 

Smiling Sally

we have another

Blue Monday!

and

I finally remembered

to take pictures 

of a before

so that I can join in

on 

Susan's

 Met Monday fun!

Here are pictures of my front porch

before I added the pretty 

Pansies, Violas 

&

Ivy

And here is a picture of my 

blue wheelbarrow.....

Hope you have a pleasant week!

Sorry my pics are out of order but I just could not 

rearrange them today.  Blogger is not behaving for me today.

How about you?

Robyn

Buzz on Over to MY Garden - Revisited

Here is another
Sunday Favorite
hosted by
Chari
@
Happy to Design

This is a chance to revisit
a favorite post from
the past
and share it
with all of our new followers & friends.

This post was one of my first offerings
and it was originally posted
on
July 25th, 2008.

Buzz on over to my garden. It's mid-July and the garden is just about at it's peak! Wow, I love how all the flowers have merged together. It is really pretty when I look out my dining room and porch windows. It's definitely not your classic "English Cottage Garden". I know it contains all the common fair. However, the flowers are not separated, they are co-mingled. I am not a fan of mulch. I hate the color. The only mulch I could possibly be interested in is the black mulch. I want the plants to drop their seeds. I want the flowers to spread. Bring it on. I thin them out. It is hard to do. I love them all. It's even hard to chose flowers for bouquets. I transplant them when I can.

My absolute favorite are Oxeye Daisies. Jacob picked a few for me from a field near our home. He dried them out and planted the seeds last fall. I have the most beautiful daisies. This year he is harvesting the seeds from the deadheads. I also throw some spent flower heads back into the garden. I have several varieties of Mondarda "Beebalm". We have the bright pink that again came from the "wild" so I can't share it's name with you. I have the red "Jacob Cline" (I love the name...), and a bright lavendar. I have the "False Sunflowers" Heliopsis. They just keep on blooming and blooming all the way 'til fall. Of course, I have the Echinacea Purple coneflowers. I have a few varieties. I have to hurry to gather a few of their seeds before the finches tear it apart. Another plant the goldfinches can't resist is the Anise Hyssop. My dog loves it, too. Jacob introduced it to him a few years back. He will mosey back to the garden and help himself to a leaf or two. It tastes like black licorice. They are a member of the mint family, so I don't need to tell you that it can get out of control. Right now that is okay with me, because I have a large space that I like to keep filled. They transplant nicely. I even moved them to a shade area of my yard and they are going strong. The companion plant in this photo is called Soapwort. It is also known as Bouncing Bet. It gets that rep from the fact that it moves about the garden. It spreads by rhizomes. I have an abundance of it. It all started with one tiny little plant from the Farmer's Market. They bloom profusely. It is sweet. Even the dried seed pods are pretty in the fall. I am glad that I have discovered it. It really is cute.

The plant in the second photo is Spiderwort. The cute little flowers only bloom in the morning. I have two varieties - a darker purple and a brighter blue. Interspersed throughout the garden are my Dad's favorite. The Dahlia. We plant the tubers in the spring. I know that you can pinch off the "suckers", however as stated before I just can't bear myself to do it. I love all the flowers great and small. I don't care for the dinner-plate sized heads in my application. I had a neighbor that grew the prettiest dinner-plate sized heads, but he had them in a large separate garden all clustered together it was gorgeous!

I'll wrap this up by showing you the view from my windows, and tomorrow I'll share with you my shady garden and my patio. Ta Ta!

I hope you enjoyed this
Blast from the Past!

Jacob and I have been/will be
"tooling around town"
so I will check
in with you guys later on
Sunday Night!

Robyn