Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of Mother's Day there are two Bingo words for today.

Basket

There's No Place Like Home

I just came back from the Mother's Day brunch. Pretty decorations and good food. Now to digest a bit.

Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day. I am just now getting on the computer so I'll post for Monday and Tuesday.

You're Not in Kansas Anymore

Dorothy

Oh my, I still l haven't moved my recent photos to the computer. Maybe soon there will be flowers and then I'll post one with the flowers. Lots of buds out there. Actually the tomatoes and peppers have blossoms, but you know how small those flowers are. Except for a close up, you wouldn't even notice them.

Wednesday's Bingo Word:

Crystal Ball

Jeanne, I am mailing my ?????? to you today!!

Amy, I mailed your envie today.

Anybody grow an olive tree?

We got a small one Sunday. Trying to decide the best place to put it. I think I may want to get a second one that's a different variety. I love the way they look and I like olives.

Ruth, no I have not grown an olive tree. How tall will it get? Will you be able to harvest olives?

Annie, I posted on the April heading that I received your lovely Bingo prize. Thank you so much.

Thursday's Bingo word:

KANSAS

Has anyone been to Kansas? Not me.

Here is another Creative Writing activity. Hopefully some will want to tackle it.

C.W. #3

What was Dorothy's favorite flower and why?

C.W. #3

What was Dorothy's favorite flower and why?

Wildflowers of many kinds grow all over Kansas, but none grow in profusion like the many beautiful sunflowers. There are so many that Kansas is known as the Sunflower State. They were easily Dorothy's favorite flower until the day that small puppy came home with Uncle Henry. And after that how could any flower compare to Toto Rudbeckia's and how meaningful that memory became.

I don't believe I have ever been to Kansas.

The olive tree we got can get to 16' tall and 13' wide.

Yes, we should be able to harvest olives in about 3 years.

Below is a picture I took of an olive grove in the Texas Hill Country.

I have been to Kansas, quite a few years ago. I remember it was very flat.

My very best buddy, retired from the airlines a few years back. She sold her home here and moved to Kansas. It is on my list to go have some fun with her in Kansas. I know there is also a Wizard Of Oz museum not to far from her. She is in a very small town. She loves it.

Yes, I have 2 olive trees. Several years ago we planted them behind our home here in the canyon. They are big. When my husband was alive, he learned how to treat/brine them so we of course could eat them. It is a very serious venture. Make sure and do your research.

Creative Writing # 3

Miss Dorothy's favorite flower was the Poppy. She used to dream about fields of red poppies night after night. She could not understand why. Auntie Em did not like poppies so there were none on the farm. And then it happened. For real, Dorothy was not in Kansas any more. And it was not a dream. She awoke in a massive display of the most beautiful flowers.somewhere, somewhere, somewhere......and on to OZ she went.

As always, I enjoyed the creative writing!

Today's Bingo word:

Hot Air Balloon

They are supposed to pressure wash our patios/balconies tomorrow so I moved my plants (about 25 of them) indoors as well as my plant supplies. Sure hope they come on the day we were told they would be here. I tend to repot things out there so mine really needs to be cleaned. No access to water there so all I can do is sweep and that doesn't work very well on the rough concrete.

Ruth, Your package from OZ is coming from Bakers Creek. I couldn’t figure out how to include a not but I hope you enjoy! Take care, Amy

Dorothy’s favorite flowers were golden yellow gerber daisies. These reminded Dorothy of the magical road that she needed to travel to find the wizard.

Happy Sunday!

The business that was supposed to wash the windows and pressure wash the balcony didn't get to me yesterday so now to see if I can arrange a time for them to do it on Monday since I can't be here in the middle of the day.

Sat. and Sun. Bingo Words

Saturday: The Emerald City

Sunday: Green Tinted Spectacles

When I went to my raised bed this morning there was finally a daisy that opened. Lots and lots of buds. Also I planted a deep purple verbena and it is blooming a bit more. Still lots and lots of tomato and pepper blossoms. Anyway, nice to see things are settling in.

Have to tell about this. Last year I bought a tropical hibiscus. It has been potted the whole time. It stayed on my balcony from the time I bought it and over the winter. I could tell the original stem had died and just let it sit there. Finally noticed some growth a few days ago and went back to a picture to see what the leaves on the plant had looked like. (Thought it might be a miscellaneous seed that germinated in the container.) No, last year's plant is coming up again, growing a new stem and has made it through all that. I know they can make it through the winter planted in the ground but sure didn't think it would make it through the winter in an unprotected container on my balcony.

This was how it looked last summer. It was a happy surprise because we had a cold winter with ice and snow and extended cold temperatures. We'll see if it can return to a full-sized plant and bloom this year.

Computer was not cooperating last evening but I have it running again this morning.

Today's Bingo Word

Blue & White Gingham

That brought to mind another creative writing prompt.

C.W. #4

The blue and white gingham dress is so associated with Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.

Did Dorothy or Aunt Em make it? Was it bought in a local store? Did Dorothy receive it as a gift. Inquiring minds want to know.

Here are two pictures I took of my raised garden bed yesterday. As I have been saying, lots of green - not a lot to call your attention to the flowers at this point. In the foreground you can see my Tomato plants, Creeping Phlox, and Blue Aster, There are pepper plants at the far end past the daisies, but like the tomato plants, they are small and not calling attention to themselves

Second picture allows you a better view of my Basil, Purple Verbena, Sage, Canna Lily, BIG clump of Shasta Daisies, Lemon Verbena and Purple Prairie Clover.

Creative Writing # 4

Auntie Em did not make the very famous blue and white gingham dress nor did Miss Dorothy.

Dorothy's Mother Madge made it for her daughter before she died from some kind of poisoning.. She found the gingham material, which was actually a tablecloth, in the food cellar. And the infamous dress was born. But did you know....Dorothy did not like it!!

Love the creative writing post!

Annie, I'm putting your item in today's mail but I don't know if I am making it down to the mail room before they pick things up. Window washing and pressure washing going on here at Searstone so I have to work around their time frame. They say we don't have to be here but with my cat and the dog, I try to stay in not knowing when the workers will show up. All of that should be completed at my building today. (The dog is afraid and the cat goes into "watch cat" mode.

Today's Bingo word:

The Scarecrow

Auntie Em wasn’t wasting any time getting all her chores done so she could meet the Rolling Store. She had her eggs, butter and chickens ready to trade for sugar, salt, coffee, thread and fabric. There was just enough time before Easter to make Dorothy a new dress.

She could see the cloud of dust as Big Red drove down the dirt road. Red gathered the things on her list as she looked at the big selection of Dan River fabric. The blue-and-white checked gingham caught her eye immediately as it was the same color blue as Dorothy’s eyes.

Auntie Em hurried home to get started. As soon as the fabric was cut, she had that Sears treadle machine whizzing. Dorothy looked so beautiful in her new Easter dress and it became her favorite.

Dorothy decided to make a blue gingham dress in her home economics class. Auntie Em purchased three yards of gingham fabric for the project at the general store. Dorothy finished the project during school and received an A for her grade. She was very proud of her dress and wore it every chance she could.

Great creative writing responses!

Here's our Bingo word for today:

CYCLONE

Mentioning that I wlll select 2 Bingo words on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wonder if that will give us a Bingo winner?

It's still hot here. Apparently there is some rain in the forecast.

They are starting bocce teams here and I signed up. Never have played. Not sure I've ever watched it before today when I saw them

demonstate the game. We shall see how it goes.

Ruth,

Thank you for the very creative card! It is so cute and I love the seeds that you sent! They are perfect with our theme this month.

Perfect seeds for the theme received by Amy!I had never heard of those tomato varieties. Ruth, you were right in the spirit of "We're Off to See the Wizard".

Today's Bingo word:

SILVER SLIPPERS

In case your are wondering, in the book Dorothy's slippers were silver. With the first movie being partly in color they decied to use ruby for the slippers and they would show up much better for viewers.

Anybody have any plans for the Memorial Day Weekend? None here other than a belated Mother's Day meal with my daughter and her family. There will be a special brunch on Monday here where I live. Also each year for Memorial Day they put out flags for deceased service members. Turns out we can request one for immediate family members so I requested one to honor my dad.

Low key weekend here....friends coming over.

Weather will be cool.....mid 60's next several days. Great gardening weather.

Jeanne, until I saw SILVER SLIPPERS in you BINGO list, I had forgotten that in the book her slippers were silver.

I have not seen the movie in a while....maybe tonight!

Annie, I received my swap from you. Love how you worked in the theme of the movie/book. I'll come back to add a photo and details a bit later. Right now it doesn't want to load.

Anyway, Bingo words. I think I said I would draw 2 each day: Fri - Sun.

now we have RUBY SLIPPERS

and THE GOLDEN CAP"*

(** I can't remember if it's in the movie or not, but it's part of the book.)

The swap I got from Annie:

So bright and cheerful! Zinnia with the mixed colors represents the colorful poppy field and the transformation in the movie from b&w to color.

Oklahoma Zinnias (Golden Yellow) represent the golden brick road.

Picklebush Cucumber represents GREEN which is the color I also associate with the movei and the bad witch's skin color.

Will have fun growing these. Thanks so much.

Bingo words for today:
Lyman

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

If you are wondering why Lyman was one of the words, it's what the L stands for in L. Frank Baum.

Ruth, I hope your seeds arrive soon. They are marked shipped but there is no tracking. I will reorder if they don’t arrive soon.

Happy weekend!

Amy, my daughter just brought the seeds in about an hour ago. Mail must have brought them really late last night as we had checked for mail several times yesterday. Great picks. I love zinnias, the violas (Ruby) look beautiful and who doesn’t love an heirloom tomato (Rainbow). Thank you so much.

My Everglade tomato plants are doing great.

( Anybody have any plans for the Memorial Day Weekend?) We will be going to Fort Worth for a Memorial Day service at Mount Olivet Cemetery in the morning and then probably eat lunch out.

Tonight we have have storms rolling thru with flash flood warnings, but tomorrow should be sunshine.

Great seeds being received.

Here are the next Bingo words:

Cowardly Lion

Winged Monkeys

Had a nice lunch today with my younger daughter and her family. This was a belated Mother's Day get-together.

Took new pictures of my raised bed garden. It has grown so much in the past week. We are getting less rain than predicted but hopefully some more is on the way.

C.W. #5

Obviously Dorothy is a very brave girl. However, there is one insect she is frightened by. Which one and why?

Dorothy loves most of the farm animals and critters she encounters while exploring their rambling farmland. There is one exception that gives her concern. Every time she sees the beautiful dragonfly, she decides it's time to head home. When she was very young, she remembers hearing them called snake feeders. It's said that when you see them there will be a snake close by.

Thanks for posting that, Ruth. All of the creative writing posts are very creative!

We got a midday rain today but it's much needed and didn't upset any of my plans. Last evening I watched the Memorial Day concert program from DC. Always enjoys those types of patriotic musical tributes.

Anyway, I'm going to continue to list 2 Bingo words today. We need quite a few more before we get a winner.

Today's Bingo words:

Toto

Auntie Em

Creative Writing # 5.......

Every time Dorothy saw the mean. green machine, aka as Elphaba Thropp, riding her bike around town, there was a swarm of killer green bees in tow. Not only was sweet Dorothy fearful of Elphaba but she was scared to death of bees.. The green bees adored Elphaba and would attack anyone that might threaten her., or not. Did you know that our favorite Dorothy was allergic to bee stings and always carried an EPIPEN with her?

Again, the creative writing is so creative. Annie, bees are the insect I am most afraid of and in with that I include hornets, yellow jackets and the more vicious bees. I know that honey bees are not very aggressive.

Two more Bingo words for today and then we'll go back to posting one a day and hope someone gets Bingo.

Today's words:

If I Only Had a Brain

Pail of Water

GOT MAIL......

Thank you Jeanne...........

*Zinnia Envy....Green...the Emerald City

*Carrot Rainbow Mix......Somewhere Over The Rainbow

*Persica virginiana "Painters Pallette".....the film started out in black and white but changed over to color.

Great month!!

Glad your package arrived, Annie.

Today's Bingo word:

A Lighted Match (it's what scared the scarecrow)

I was out watering my raised bed garden this morning and realized I have 3 "ready to pick" sized peppers on my plants. The plants are not very tall and I had to part the leaves to be able to see there were peppers. I plan to pick them tomorrow morning. First things to harvest from my little garden!

And now for today's Bingo word (number):

1900

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900.)

Sorry we still don't have a Bingo winner, but I will keep pulling words today and tomorrow until we have one. Things got busy yesterday and I didn't remember until I was heading to bed.

So for yesterday and today:

The Yellow Brick Road

The Tin Man

3 more. If this doesn't get us a winner I will pull more words later in the day.

Horse of a Different Color

Telescopic Eye

Munchkinland

HaHa.......no BINGO winner here. I have a ways to go....need 4 more. Early congrats to Amy and/or Ruth!!

Jeanne, what a fun month. Creative writing took us down a different road......a yellow brick one.

Happy Sunday!!

Here are 2 more Bingo words. Someone should have it now.

Glinda

Chickens

Annie, you won the creative writing contest. Congratulations. I loved reading what everyone wrote.

Until someone posts they have Bingo we will keep going. However, if no one posts by late this evening, I will draw more words so we can finish with this in MAY!

Heidi has our June swap posted so be sure to check it out.

Bingo

Congratulations, Amy! We sure got this Bingo game down to the wire.

Thanks to those who participated. It was a fun month. Will likely be a few days before I am able to send out prizes. Appreciate you swapping and playing the games.

Congrats Amy!! I think BINGO should come down to the wire....LOL!

Thanks Jeanne for the creative writing nod.....but send no prize....I share the honor with my fellow OZ friends, Amy and Ruth.

Thanks again Jeanne!!!

Congratulations, Amy.

Thank you, Jeanne, for hosting a fun month.

I loved writing and reading the creative writing part.

Thank you Jeanne for a fun month!

Amy and Annie, finally sending out your prizes. They will arrive from Amazon. Hopefully it will allow me to add an enclosure to say they are from me. Annie, I was able to add a gift enclosure on yours but it didn't work with your item, Amy. They are the same so I don't know why.

Jeanne, Thank you for the bingo prize. The garden flag is perfect for my yard! I love it!

Got mail......

Jeanne, thank you very much!! So perfect!!

My yard will be so happy!!