HOORAY FOR RAINY SATURDAYS!!!

Zachary has been here all week and I am so tired.   I was truly hoping for a little extra sleep this morning but Zach was up at 5:30.

The weather here in Texas is going to be rainy and cold today and tomorrow, so we are stuck in the house.  The gardens are truly a mess this spring and the weeds are definitely winning the battle.   The weather has been rather warm all winter so the weeds have truly flourished, which means lots of extra work (shame on me).  Pulling weeds in the winter does not compute in my brain.   I want to stay in the house and read books on gardening rather than actually garden.

 Daffodils are blooming and putting on quite the show and some of the tulips I planted last year have come back.   I never expect the tulips to come back here;  the weather is too hot in the summer for the tulips to survive but low and behold, they are giving me a pretty good show this spring.

One of the great things about winter is the constant parade of garden catalogs that hit my mailbox.   I can sit for hours with a cup of coffee pouring over all the catalogs and dream of great summer gardens.   One of my favorites is Gilbert H. Wild and Son.   They have the best prices on daylilies and a good product.  They also have peonies, hostas, lilies and other plants.   When they have a sale; THEY HAVE A SALE!!!!  Here is a link to their web page.

http://www.gilberthwild.com/

Gilbert H. Wild has bargain daylilies, some for the low price of  $2.00 and if you are trying to fill in a large space and you like daylilies, then this is the place for you.

Another favorite of mine is Crownsville Nursery.   They carry a large variety of salvias and my favorite nepeta, 'Walker's Low'.   Their product is excellent and the way they pack their plants for shipping is the best.   I have never gotten a 'bad' plant from them and have always had great success with their plants.  Here is a link to their page.

Crownsville Nursery

One website that I discovered last year is Annie's Annual & Perennials.   I discovered these nice people on Facebook last year.   Their plant material is top notch and their website is lots of fun to roam around and learn about some very different kinds of plants.   Annie's is out of California and being an east coast girl, I was not familiar with alot of their plants.   I ordered some of the plants last year and had good success with them.   If you are on Facebook,  friend these wonderful gals and take a look at the lovely photos they have on their facebook page.  You won't be disappointed.

https://www.anniesannuals.com/

Annie's also offers a wonderful feature known as a "Wish List".   If they don't have the plant you are looking for, you can put it on your wish list and they will notify you by email when your plant is in stock.   I love this concept because I would never remember to go back and check to see if a plant is back in stock. Clever of them, don't you think???

There are only a couple of garden centers here in the San Antonio area, so I am constantly on the lookout for good mail order nurseries.   I love having a garden full of plants that are different and lovely to look at.  One of the local nurseries is The Antique Rose Emporium.   This is probably one of the prettiest nurseries I have ever been to.   Their rose selection is amazing and their perennials are excellent.  The Antique Rose Emporium also has a website and they have 100's of roses.   Shrub roses, mannerly climbers, wild climbers, tea roses, partial shade roses, Texas pioneer roses, container roses and a large selection of Dave Austin Roses.   What more could you ask for???   Here is a link to their website:

https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/

Well, my dear friend.   I must close this note and go play with Zach.   Thank God for rainy days; playtime is important, too.  Miss you bunches, my dear friend.

Hugs
Ro

JUNKIN ON SATURDAY

Saturday was Market Days at Canton, Texas.   This flea market is one of the best in the country, some 10 square miles of "stuff" to browse through.   What a way to spend the day for a junker like me.  It's impossible to walk the whole thing but we (as in the family) have our favorite places to go, so we go right to work looking for those great little treasure we can't live without.

I don't own a wide angle lens, so this is just a small snippet of the size of this place.   One can find chickens, nuts, soup, and vintage everything.   I have a few favorites that I always find things to take home with me (chickens not included).

                 I found a very nice 'flow blue' platter among all the lovely china in this shop.

  
        A great shop full of pottery.  Don't you just love these beautiful blue pots.  The color is just perfect for spring.

                                             Pretty vintage perfume bottles

                         This couple made the most beautiful burlap and linen pillows. 

I love this chandelier and wanted to buy it for my craft room.    It was just a little over my budget and a certain husband was not being swayed to let me spend a 'little more money'!!!!    Maybe the next time I go, it will still be there.

How can one not love the name of this shop???   Lots of goodies to rummage through here.   They had some lovely vintage linens and lamps.

And this is my favorite shop, GIRLS GONE JUNKIN.    I always find lots of trinkets for my journals at this shop.   I found some vintage buttons, scrabble letters trimmed in glitter, white ribbon with buttons already sewn on, and a terrific buy on community silverware.   The girls who work at this shop are just the friendliest bunch and so helpful.

These are just a few of the photos I took last Saturday.    I am so looking forward to going next month.  The market days are only open once a month, first Monday weekend of every month.   Since this is Texas, the best months to go are always the cooler months and of course December is the best for all the great Christmas trinkets one could possibly want.

Till the next time, have a wonderful day.  Miss you bunches, my dear friend.,

BEEN GONE and BACK AGAIN

Well, I certainly have been 'missing in action' so to speak.  Things have been just a little crazy and I was not sure what direction I wanted to take my life.  I have since found my way back and I am ready to go ahead with great gusto!!!

Since I have been gone, I want to tell you, we have a new PUNK.  Her name is Lola Rose and she was born on November 29th.   She is a little cutie and is growing by leaps and bounds.   We are so happy for our Chris and Candice.  Adopting is truly a challenge that most people would find extremely difficult but they stuck with it.   Lola is truly a blessing and I thank God every day for putting the birth mother and my kids together.   I will tell you more about the adoption process in the near future.

 Thought you might get a kick out of seeing one of the many 100's of pictures I took during the holidays, trying to get a great photo of all the PUNKS.   I am always amazed how difficult picture taking can be when one is dealing with children.  They never want to cooperate and I wish you could have heard all the complaining about putting 'good' clothes on just because Nana wants to take a picture.  The 'photo session' went on forever with only ONE decent photo!!!

As you can see, Zach doesn't want to sit still for the picture.   His Mom was across the room and all he wanted was to be with her.  Bella and Matthew certainly have grown up alot since the last photos I sent you.   I find it hard to believe that Bella will be 8 this April and Matthew just turned 7 last month. 

Well, my dear friend, I will close this note by saying, I am one lucky NANA!!!  The PUNKS are all so special and fill my heart with so much love.  Hope this note finds you well and looking forward to spring, as much I am.  Much love to you from all of us. I miss you bunches!!!