Jeanne and Ruth, good luck today......

In the Oaks today, two of our listed horses came in 1st - 3rd.

Ruth gets 3 points with Pretty Mischievous coming in 1st.

Annie gets 2 points with Gambling Girl coming in 2nd.

Now for the Derby tomorrow. I've added an extra horse taken at random to each of your selections.

Ruth has Rocket Can and Forte

Annie has Raise Cain and Confidence Game.

Good luck, ladies!

Congrats Ruth on yesterdays Kentucky Oaks win!!

Good luck to ME today...LOL! But Good Luck to you to Ruth!!

Off to a Kentucky Derby party today....lots of betting and they pay track odds.

They will have casino tables as well....blackjack, craps and roulette.

And I have to get ready for Mint Juleps...haha!

Happy Saturday!!

Sorry but I can't join in this month. Our house sold and we found a new home in Virginia. We head out next week for our cruise to Alaska so you can see I am busy. I have actually already packed away my seeds even though we are here til the end of June. Our daughter and her family are headed out from Arizona our last week here so goal is to have everything packed in the truck.

Here is the new home and the view is why the mountains are calling.

What a beautiful location! Thanks for sharing the picture.

As for the Kentucky Derby today, none of the horses we chose or were assigned came in 1st - 3rd so Ruth wins the game with the 3 points she had yesterday.

The 1st three horses today were:

1. Mage

2. Two Phil's

3. Angel of Empire

Often there are surprises with the Derby since there are so many horses trying to get a good position coming out of the starting gate in the race.

Congratulations, Ruth! I'll be sure to pop back in after the 8th to assign partners. I owe a prize to Annie from last month and will get yours and Annie's out for sure this month.

Swapping this Month:

Jeanne

Ruth

Annie

Anyone else?

Ruth Congrats!!

Margo happy travels!! Be safe!!

Happy Monday

Well, glad we didn't bet money on our horses for Saturday. LOL

Margo, I love your new place. Love that view. I've always liked driving thru Virginia. We've checked out a few campgrounds there. Enjoy your trip. I would love to go to Alaska.

I wanted to work in the yard today, but rain started about thirty minutes in.

Ruth, the humidity was up here today. I finally turned on the AC which I don't like to do this early in the year. I'm supposed to go on a short trip tomorrow to see a garden in the area so I'll try to take a picture to post. Hopefully it won't rain early in the day.

I missed the garden trip - allergies caught up with me last evening today. Well by afternoon I noticed the lawn needed to be cut and trimming needed in my backyard so I guess I've inhaled too much pollen once again. I pulled ivy down off the trees and spotted posion ivy so I sure hope I adaquatedly washed it off of me! I've had a bad case of it twice now.

For Swappers:

Ruth sends to Jeanne

Jeanne sends to Annie

Annie sends to Ruth

Jeanne, do you mow your grass yourself?? I have not done that in years!!

Ruth, your envie is headed out tomorrow (Saturday).

Yes, I do mow, Annie. Much less to mow here compared with what I had in Lexington but right now it's much greener and thicker than it ever got in Lexington. I really don't mind it - although if it's hot I sometimes take a break between the left side and the right side of the driveway. I never could start those lawnmowers where you had to pull the cord but this is battery operated and I sometimes use the self-propelled feature when mowing uphill. (Not too much because it goes faster than I do.) Had to buy a new battery for it about 2 weeks ago, so all kinds of things to repair and replace these days.

Today I went out and bought a toilet. I got the same kind we bought for the house in Lexington and those were very good so I hope the quality is still the same. Still lots more to line up to get this house in shape. The kitchen has some type of lights that go into the ceiling and I expected I could just replace the bulbs, but they are not like that, you have to buy the whole set up and connect the wires again so I will get a handyman or electrician out to deal with that. I think there are 4 of them out right now. Trying to decide if I want to get any similar work done while I have someone out here. I will definitely get my family room carpeting replaced before the end of the year. It's miserable and the only place that's carpeted downstairs. I know I will be tempted to do the stairway and upstairs, too. Little by little ...

When I went to look at toilets I came home with 3 new plants. So hopeless for me to pass them by. A really pretty red lily for just $2 and a hydrangea with huge blooms marked half price and then a full reasonably priced Encore azalea. I only have about 4 azaleas total here and this one looks like it will be gorgeous when it blooms so I told myself I need it.

Hope everyone has a good Mother's Day weekend!

Ladies, right now we have no one signed up as hostess until October. If you find you have time to sign up for one of those unclaimed months, let me know: JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER. As you've seen sometimes it's okay to just post a game for that month or to have it be a card with a small tuck-in. Even a heading with some kind of theme and posting pictures about our plants and some discussion is always enjoyed. How about a recipe theme? So many good tasty fruits and vegetables available in the summer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mommy Day to all....enjoy!!

Annie, I will be mailing your card and seeds tomorrow. Quiet day here, but that's okay.

Good morning on this wet Monday morning. Lots of rain here recently.

Hubby had cataract surgery on Tuesday and one daughter has been sick and didn't feel like going out. So mother's day was ok for me. Went to dinner with one daughter, one grandson and hubby and watched a movie at home. We watched A Man Called Otto. Cute movie but a little sad.

I've had no iris's bloom this year. One last little daffodil just finished blooming. First daylilies bloomed today. Two different varieties. I have tiny peaches now, but critters always get them before they get ripe. Pear tree has fire blight this year and I haven't seen any pears on it.

Jeanne, did you send emails to all of our members with the message about hosting? It might help. I hope are swaps will be able to continue, but people just don't seem to be participating much anymore.

Ladies, I typed a fairly long post and it disappeared before I could submit it. Off to get some dinner so I'll try to post more tomorrow. Annie, I missed getting your card and seeds out in time for the mailman so it will go out tomorrow. I had to go for blood work this morning so I was rushing around to get out the door at the right time.

Ruth, I read the book that movie is based on - he's Ove in the book. Anyway, I loved the book!

Nothing going on here for Mother's Day but I did talk with my daughters by phone and drove to get take out for two meals so it was nice not to cook and clean up for those!

I have been waiting for a gardener and his team to come and plant lots of potted things for me and they came today so what fun results! They also trimmed the camellias that line one side of my screened porch. They had gotten so tall they extended over the roof line. They planted or replanted at least 10-12 things for me - not little ones either - even a redbud tree (about 4+ feet tall) that someone either planted (or it planted itself) in a place that was not going to work long term. It was too pretty to get tossed away and they said they could move it so we did that. Anyway: 2 rose bushes, 5 peonies, a hydrangea, a clematis, an azalea - and a replant on an azalea that was not thriving where it was. Whew! I've been out watering. Hoping for rain tonight. I always worry if the plants will do okay once they are in the ground and if I picked the right locations. We will see. Some of these were from SC and had been in containers for almost 2 years now.

I wish I could dig in the soil here because it was be fun if I could, but there were several men here with shovels and a huge pick-ax so not an easy chore.

Hooray, we got rain last night! It measured 4 1/2 inches in my rain gauge. So thankful because after this I think there is not much chance of rain for awhile. This was just what those newly planted things needed.

As for future months, I cannot take on the month of June but if by late June no one has signed up for July I will come up with something simple for that month. We'll see ...

No rain or storms here today so I did a lot of yard work.

Almost every year I have a hard time finding lemon grass. I did buy two pots already. One was $25.00 for a 2 gallon pot, the other one was a 4" and cost less. So, I tried something new. Went to an Asian market and bought 3 bundles of 4 stalks for a few dollars each. I'm rooting them in water. Ten have rooted already and I planted six of them today. Also finally found Galangal root and planted that today.

Jeanne, got your card mailed today.

Sure sounds like a lot of work going on at your house. I bet it looks great.

Annie, I received your beautiful homemade card and seeds today. I love it.

Early Scarlet Globe radish and Garnet Star sunflower, which looks gorgeous. I was just enjoying the blooms on my yellow sunflowers today. And all the interesting info on California that I did not know.

It has continued to rain and be a bit cooler since my plants got transplanted. What luck! The leaves on the tree are drooping a bit and the transplanted little azalea doesn't look great but I think they might make it anyway. Everything else has handled it great.

Has anyone heard of Spanish Bluebells? I have a large cluster of them here at this house. They bloom in the Spring and the entire plant only shows up for a few weeks - with foliage popping from the ground and then flowers bloom and then the foliage dies away rather quickly. I took a few pictures this spring and will try to find and post them. Anyway, they were very crowded and spreading everywhere - plus where they come up is behind shrubs so no one can see them so I transplanted some of them to other places yesterday. We'll see if they transplant well.

Ruth, what a great card from Annie!

Tomorrow is the Preakness Race in case anyone wants to watch. I was surprised there are so few horses running in the race (I think 8), but the Derby is always the one with so many horses. Let's hope they continue to take more steps to keep these beautiful horses safe. Churchill Downs had a bad week the week of the Derby from what has been in the news. Wishing the horses and jockeys a safe trip tomorrow!

Have a good weekend.

(I've had to be at home quite a bit this week with stuff being repaired/checked, but I will get the game prizes out soon.)

Spanish Bluebells (Scilla hispanica). Yes, in one of our swaps I received some from Faye (Cleveland, TN.).

I planted under a crape myrtle and Dan kept mowing them until I put a rock in front. Finally bloomed for the first time this year. I was surprised that the flowers were white instead of blue.

Jeanne,

Tracking shows your prize was delivered from KOHLS yesterday (Thursday) in/at mailbox at 12:09pm. I hope you received.

There is so much Mailbox/front porch stealing around here. Mail and packages...ripped of. It is a huge problem. As well, homes are being broken in to..... As well, stealing in stores....people just walk out with stuff. And you really have to watch your purse while shopping.

Is this a big problem where you guys live??

Happy Friday!!

Whoops, above post posted in wrong place. Jeanne, I just read that you received April BINGO prize on April Spring IS IN THE AIR.

Happy weekend!!

Sorry if I posted in the wrong place. No problems with mail theft that I know of around here. However there is one mail carrier who regularly leaves mail for the next street over but with the same house number in my mailbox. Not rare for me to be walking it over to their mailbox. I take it when I walk my dog.

My Spanish Bluebells are blue/lavender and very pretty. Here's a picture.

Jeanne, those are beautiful.

Annie, I've seen news stories about packages being grabbed from porches, but don't know anyone it's happened to. Stealing does seem to be a national problem. Around here breaking in cars and stealing catalytic converters are big. Especially older Honda's. My grandsons work at Dave and Busters and one night an employee walked outside and caught two guys cutting it off their Honda. They didn't get the catalytic converter but still cost around $ 80.00 to have it welded back. When I shop I usually have my purse on crossbody style.

Today was our May Euless Garden Club meeting. It was at Native Gardners Nursery.

Derek, our host, served us Starbucks coffee and shared great information about the native plants that were available. I only brought home six new plants.

Annie, how are your sweet peas doing? I planted some seeds of the same types I sent to you and Nicole in our January swap. Got my first bloom today. I forgot which ones I sent but the flower looked white and had a sweet fragrance. I'll post a picture when a few more bloom.

Stopped in to say hello. I will be mailing the prizes for the Derby picks tomorrow. You may laugh about what you receive but it was the only thing horse related in the store.

I recorded the Preakness and watched it yesterday evening. No triple crown this year and we may have another long stretch without one. My daughter who lives in NC and her family and I went out to dinner as a late Mother's Day celebration yesterday. We sat outside and the weather was perfect. Wonderful food, too. I would be there picking up food all the time if that restaurant was near me! My diet is glad it's a 30 min. drive away.

We continue to get rain after my plants got planted and transplanted. Perfect timing. I'm still not sure the redbud tree and the replanted azalea will make it, but they are getting the best chance at it. Yesterday I moved the clematis once again (I didn't think it's spot wasn't sunny enough) and I planted some red lilies that I got on sale at Lowe's into the ground. They still looked really good and were marked down to $2 (of course at that price the flowers had died and been clipped off, but that's okay.) With the gardeners using those huge pick axes to plant here, I got out my little matlock and hacked up the soil with that. A shovel just doesn't seem to be worthwile until you chop away at the "dirt" (clay).

Has anyone dealt with fungus gnats in their seedlings? The past 2 years I have winter sowed, things have started growing, but by the time I could possibly put them outside they have mostly died back. I'm suspecting I have been getting fungus gnats in the containers. I just looked up how to control fungus gnats so I'll give it a try and see how it goes. 5 ways mentioned and at this point I may try all 5!

Have a good day.

Ruth, your card and seeds arrived yesterday. Thank you so much. I especially enjoyed reading about the butterflies and mockingbirds.

Have a good day! A rather nice morning here so I was out to mow my lawn.

Jeanne. I received my lovely card and seeds.....North Carolina state bird is the Cardinal, hence red seeds Cherry Queen Zinnia. Thank you very much!!

WOW! I am surprised I was able to get signed in and find this. Happy Spring everyone. We had a very nice rain shower this morning. It has been all around but missing us.

Beth, good to hear from you. Hope your doing well and having a good year.

My Sweet peas are starting to bloom pretty good. Now I want more colors to add to these next year. Blue for sure. Hoping I get seeds from these.

High Scent & Royal Red

I think the ones I had were called Royal Family..

Hi, Beth -glad you found your way here.

Very pretty sweet peas, Ruth. I had one plant in Lexington and it came up every year. The only sweet pea I ever successfully grew.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Looks like it will be rainy here. It has also turned quite a bit cooler. I had a sweater on today - not normal for May!

Ruth, forgot to answer....RE: Sweet Peas....total bust for me. I lost all of them. When they got to 4 inches tall, they disappeared....something ate them.

Jeanne, no fungas knats here!!

Jeanne, did you get all the work completed at your home? Happy?

Happy weekend to all....ENJOY!!. We to have gotten rain the last few days....nice....I don't have to water...LOL!

Annie, the exterior of the house (siding, paint, replace screens) is completed and I had a new toilet installed in guest bathroom and the gardeners over to do a bit of work that I couldn't manage in the yard and glad to have that done. Still a long list of other projects/repairs to line up, but a short break for me now while I work on straightening up rooms and decluttering. Yes, the things that are completed are so nice to have off the list.

I think I posted about the hydrangea that I bought a few weeks ago. The gardeners dug about 10 holes for me for various things and the hydrangea is totally happy in its spot in the ground.

The plant is only about 12" tall and had two big blossoms. One was basically on the ground and you couldn't really see it so I cut it and brought it inside today. So happy to have a hydrangea again. Yes, it's a bit tattered from being on the ground for a week or so.

The redbud tree looks like it may not survive the transplanting so if it doesn't I'll move a smaller one into that spot in the fall. The azalea that got transplanted did not look good to start with and I finally pulled it out of the ground today. It was not going to make it. There were lots ants around the roots. I don't know if that was the problem or it was just suffering from too much shade and neglect over the years. There are two others of the same kind out there and they get a bit more sun than the thrid one did and they are thriving so who knows..

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend. Supposed to be at least 2 days of rain ahead for us.

A thank you to all who have served in the military and protected our freedoms over the years.

Jeanne, thank you so much. I received the prize for Pretty Mischievous coming in 1st. Took me a minute to connect the carrots to horses. Cute. We give our two dogs a carrot every night.

Remembering and honoring all the courageous men and women who died serving our country......

We went to a lovely Thank you cook out from our local Amish merchants, Always enjoy shopping there and this was a nice family type affair. Attended with Daughter, son in law ( great guy) and a neighbor, another great guy and both are vets. THANKS and best wishes to all who have served either as military or as clergy and medical. Each of you was needed and are appreciated

Thank you Jeanne for a very simple month......Happy June!!

Jeanne, thank you for hosting a fun month.

Hello! I know I have been away for awhile. I keep missing the beginning of the month. I hope everyone is doing well! I'll be around more after I make it through June!

In case members are checking to see what's scheduled, no one was available to take the month of June. I will try to be hostess for something simple in July. Enjoy your summertime!

Posting under May since there is no heading for June. Look for something in July!

I've had a busy June - went on a short trip to Charleston, SC, with family and then had my older daughter and her family here visiting with me so I haven't been online much. Lots of rain in NC this week! It doesn't seem to cause any issues in my neighborhood and I'm at the higher end of the street so it was nice for the plants to get all that watering from Mother Nature.

Now the heat is heading our way and I sure will not be happy to see it, but is bound to arrive at some point. The summer had been pretty agreeable up to now.

As I thought about summer and the heat I thought about a "Lemonade" theme for our July swap. It will be simple and inexpensive and I'll think of a game or two.

Jeanne, I am going to try my best to join in next month. Just finally moved into our new house in Fancy Gap, Virginia. Wasn’t an easy journey but we are here! It actually looks like we are 21/2 hours from Cary, NC so perhaps we can meet up sometime.

Wish me luck on getting settled in. Margo

Margo, my goodness you moved fast....and you just went on a cruise I believe.

I love the name of your new city...really FANCY GAP!!

ENJOY!!

So very cool if you Margo and Jeanne can meet up!!

Jeanne, a trip to Charleston with your family....lovely!! I so enjoy that city....so much history and, of course, wonderful food! I LOVE the South!!

Happy day...

Annie

Margo, amazed to see you are in your new house. Yes, sometime we will have to try to meet up with one another.

We had the strangest storm last night - hours of thunder and lightning and winds, but not a drop of rain fell. I just knew I would wake up and everything would be well watered if not blown away - no, I was out there with the hose again.

Meanwhile I'm trying to deal with the heat (which actually has been a bit better than I expected so far this year) and I have a large tree in front of my house that died suddenly so I'm seeing about getting that taken care of. So odd, in about 3 weeks it went from not looking too good but still had green leaves to dead with not one good leaf on it and we have gotten sufficient rain since Spring. I wonder if it got a disease. Other than the expense, not a big deal. There are lots of trees on my property.

I might post the JULY Swap this evening or tomorrow, but of course will leave the sign ups through to after July 1st. I always miss it when we don't have our spot to chat back and forth and having something fun come in the mail is great, too.