Such a busy time in our family -- but never too early to begin planning for MORE parties! Like Christmas parties! Baptisms this weekend of Abby and Cora...Blessed! And a party afterwards!!! Have a great weekend!!!

I buried the lead in the video -- our Jenny was born August 2nd!!! Two days after the Opening Ceremonies. And I remember watching the Olympic events in the delivery room! I'll just say that at the time it felt like a huge sacrifice -- to have missed the opening ceremonies when they were just across the city from us. But it was a sacrifice that we were willing to make. And, Jenny was worth it! We were overjoyed with our new bundle and never looked back. And we remember that jo

Lots to do for our Baptism Party! We'll have about 40 people - and lots of people flying in for the ceremony and party. We've got the party under control -- because the Bickett Hubbells are expert party planners. We actually think we need to write a book about it! But that's for another time. This week - we focus on getting our little granddaughters christened!

There's not much more to say about hoses -- EXCEPT that you HAVE to watch this video to the end. I promise there is a big pay off! I simply crack myself up. Instead, I want to wish my second daughter, Jackie, and her terrific husband Matt -- a very Happy Anniversary! Seven years ago today we had the most beautiful wedding. And it was the beginning of a beautiful marriage. They were married at Loyola Marymount University, where Jackie had just graduated with her Master's in E

Jenny really appreciated the freezer meals - so all of the hard work was worth it! A few more Freezer Meal tips. 1) I really recommend the book - it's well organized, and provides options for cooking now or freezing for later. 2) She has 2 separate plans for multiple freezer meals in a day. I did the beginner plan - 7 meals in 2 - 3 hours. (It took more more like 4 - 5 hours -- but that's because I was inexperienced.) She also has an advanced plan where you can make 50 freeze

Marigolds, Caladiums, Coreopsis, Celosia, Rudbeckia, and Sunpatiens! Lucky me! I get to plant these over the next few days. It's still mighty hot, and I think it will be a challenge to get up early enough to get these all in the ground...but I am determined to do it! Some of them I can plant later in the evening when it cools off, so that gives me two possible windows of time. Shopping for plants at Home Depot has several advantages: 1) There's always lots of product. Lots of

When I was little, fall was a season, but it wasn't a season for which one would decorate. We enjoyed the rain, wind, and cooler temps (which we have a LOT less of than when I was young), but there were no fall leaf garlands hanging from porches, or autumn colored wreaths on neighbors' doors. Today one would think that fall is an actual holiday that we celebrate! There were SO many fall decorations at Michael's...and I felt like I needed them all! Plus it got me into the cra

I can imagine that it's twice as hard to manage a community garden plot compared to having a backyard garden. For example, I can just open the door, and turn on the hose to water my garden on these hot, hot days. Community gardeners have to get in the car, drive to their garden plot and then take care of their little green things -- and generally in the heat of the day, because the community garden really isn't open after dusk. I admire their persistence so much, and that's w

There is nothing better than eating straight from the garden. And this is such a quick and easy dish. I used it as a condiment for hamburgers in a backyard bbq this weekend. It was a hit! But I think you could use it as a snack, or side dish as well. It's very tasty, feels good for you, and made me want to speak in an Italian accent! When I was growing up, all of the neighbors (except us!) were Italian...and so I enjoyed many meals of Italian delicacies. The absolute best spa

Today is my dad's birthday. He's been gone since 1980; I was only 23 when he died. And it was quite a shock because he went into the hospital for a routine procedure, and died in recovery from a heart attack. So, I never got to say good bye. But I have no regrets, because I am certain that he knew how much I loved him. My parents were married later in life. My mom was 28 and my dad was 38. And because they had trouble conceiving, it was 10 years later that I came along -- so

I'll let the Party Closet speak for itself today...and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Find a reason to Party!!!

This dahlia reminds of California sunset. The colors are just stunning, but the shape of it is even more alluring. I loved it the minute I saw it and had to take it home with me! I think dahlia care is a little different here in SoCal. I've seen blogs where gardeners dig up all the dahlia tubers each year, and winter them in a dry cool aerated box. I never do that. I leave them in the ground and each year they come up more beautiful than ever. I think I will have to separa

There's lots of fun things to think about with this Amaranth plant, or "Love Lies Bleeding" as it is commonly called. Last Christmas I made a wreath with a little bit of Amaranth that I had dried. I might try that again this year. But the thing that I find most intriguing about this plant, is that it reminded me of the notion that the Victorians had about flowers -- that a well picked bouquet could tell the recipient everything that they needed to know -- without any words! T

Lots of lovely things in the summer garden. Many are fleeting. Some can't withstand the heat. But my top performer is long lasting, thrives in the heat, has dense, hardy blooms, and reminds me of the place that I met my husband! You may have heard this before, but Robert and I met in the first grade at St. Patrick's Catholic Elementary School in North Hollywood. And that's the clue for the top performer! Robert and I have been side by side ever since first grade, and we have

It was a busy grandbaby weekend! I'm having a hard time getting into the garden...but I need to get it into gear because we have entertaining to do this summer! Today I bought a beautiful dahlia, just because. And I also bought some new little cucumber slips because I pulled out the ones I planted in April - they were done. Visiting the nursery is. start! My plans for the rest of the this hot hot summer are to: 1) Plant zinnias seeds - they will be lovely as the fall nears! 2

Gardening shoes are impossible. I've tried wellies, garden clogs, and I even paid lots of money for highly rated water resistant Martha Stewart recommended garden shoes that look a lot like garden clogs -- and gave me such bad blisters after a single one hour wearing that I gave them away immediately. I know that there are others that I can try. Muck boots, Sperry boots, lots of choices. Maybe I'll try again. But there's still two problems that I need to solve. 1) I need what

Meal making from the garden is such a delight. And you can just type in the ingredients into the internet that you have on hand ( like onions & chickpeas! ) and out comes a recipe! I meant to make 2 batches of this recipe - one for dinner here, and one for my daughter Jenny and her husband Biff. But I lost the bandwidth, and so just one recipe this time. I promised Jenny that I would make another batch for her soon! It was a super easy, and fast recipe, despite what my son-in

Nature can be so healing. On the day that I saw these beautiful butterflies, I just wasn't feeling well. Robert had been out to a Water Board meeting for the entire morning, and I just couldn't get myself off the couch. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I thought I had some deadly disease, like a sleeping sickness, or even Covid. So, when he came home from his meeting and said, "Come with me, I want you to see these beautiful butterflies," I was not at all enthused. I plann

It's late -- there was a lot of traffic coming home from the mountains...so I will keep this short. The mini-hike that we did to reach the Giant Juniper tree was probably all of .25 miles. And I practically died. Ooof. I must be in terrible shape! First, it was really hot. So that counts. Then, there really was no discernible trail...also, we were at an altitude of over 7,000 feet. And last, I was not properly attired. I was wearing sweats because I wasn't really clear about

Happy Fourth of July Weekend! So many happy memories of... watching fireworks from the car, picnics in the park, talent shows at the cabin, swims in the neighbor's pool, barbecues in the backyard, sparklers in everyone's hands, watermelon so heavy you couldn't carry it, and corn for days. Make a memory this weekend. Stay safe. Thanks for being on this journey with me! Jill