Hail

I've been complaining a lot about all the rain we've had but would you believe a hailstone large enough to do this kind of damage to my youngest son's car?

 No, I didn't think you would. It's my silly idea of an April's Fool joke!  
It was no joke though when something accidentally did land on my son's car on the construction site where he was parked just a tad too close to the action!!  He actually managed to drive home with very little visibility and now drives a pick-up truck that hopefully will last longer than the car.


Now that we've turned the calendar page to April I can start posting cute Easter pics!

Have a great weekend.

Granny Marigold

Jam, Jelly, and a Saucer

Hello friends,  How are you on this middle-of-the-week day?
The relentless rain is.... well, relentless. We have set a new record for rainfall in 24 hours for yesterday and probably today as well. On to more pleasant subjects....

I've mentioned often that my middle son manages a complex that consists of town houses and an apartment building. The tenants, especially in the apartments, are mostly older people ( haha...like my age??) and they really appreciate him. They often send him home with gifts of homemade jams etc.  which is exactly what happened today. He asked me if I was interested in having them since his little family wasn't nearly done the last jams. Of course I said yes. We have toast every morning and although we make our jam it's a treat to taste jam made by someone else.

(My old flour sifter is in the picture just because. I never have used it but I like the way it looks.)

In the lobby of the apartment there is a table where people put anything they don't want, often books or magazines they've finished and wish to pass on to someone else. Sometimes there will be dishes and this pretty saucer was up for grabs. My son knows my love of all things china so he brought it home to see if I wanted it.  It just so happened that one of my "orphan" cups is a good match. The cup is made by Paragon and the saucer by Adderley. To my eyes they make a good  enough match.

I hope you're enjoying your Wednesday afternoon/evening..  Many of you are in time zones later than I so when I finally get to my computer the day is well spent for you. I almost never even start my computer before the afternoon. Too tempting to sit and read blogs instead of doing housework!!

Thanks for visiting today.


         Granny Marigold

Garden Stuff

My day did not have an auspicious beginning!  First thing this morning I tipped my very full very large mug of hot coffee and managed to soak both our placemats, the table and  floor. What a mess!
But the day got better; We cleaned up the mess and started over.

Yesterday my DH finished the raised garden box . I was inspired by the one Nancy had on her blog Cozy Thyme Cottage.  (In the background you can see my Crocus just waiting for some sunshine so they can open. It rained all day though.)

He also made 2 plastic covered "greenhouses" to fit overtop ( they still need handles to I can remove them on sunny days)

         We went to Home Depot and bought onion sets...

            and I saw these Gladiola  Murielae bulbs ( also called Abyssinian Gladiolus). They jumped
             into my cart as well as some fertilizer marked half price because it was last year's stock.

I used to have Cosmos in my garden and it self sowed so enthusiastically that one year I pulled it all out. This new kind grows only 12-14 inches tall and look at the colours!!  The ones I used to have were either purple or white.

So now we, like the Crocus, wait for sunny warm weather.

Thanks for coming by... have a great week.




         Granny Marigold

Thrifty buys

Today is a day of mixed weather; one minute the sun is shining and the next it's raining again. About all I did outside was some tidying up in my garden shed. In winter I tend to shove whatever might come in handy through the door and eventually I can't even get inside so it needed a good sorting out.

My granddaughter ( the cheery one that was trying out the tub in her aunt's condo) came to trim my and also my DH's hair. She does a great job.

During a recent visit to the thrift store I found this cute fondue set. The bowl might hold a cup and a half if it were totally full so it really is a one cup bowl. I thought the 2 younger grands would like a chocolate fondue ( who doesn't??) I've only ever had cheese fondue and it was tasty... and fun too.

I almost didn't buy this Mary Englbreit cup and saucer since I've sort of quit collecting ME things. Then I gave in and bought it . Came home and got my others out. Maybe I'll change my kitchen windowsill display and put these there.

Thanks for visiting. I love to read your comments and appreciate every one.


Granny Marigold

Spring Thoughts

We have been enjoying a few days of milder weather ( 14 C which is close to 60 F) so I have been outside and having a great time puttering in my bleak looking garden. So far it looks like a number of perennials have not made it through the winter but I'll wait and see if I can spot any new growth before I dig them out and get replacements.
  I did buy 2 more pots of the little Daffodils but they get overly tall in the warmth of the house. I asked my DH is he could rig up a quick little shelf outside of the kitchen window, which he did.  I already had the English Daisy that's between them .I don't think any of my English Daisies will come up this year so I'll probably have to buy a few more and hope they spread.

I hope you've had a good week .  Thanks for coming by.


        Granny Marigold

Welcome Spring

Spring arrives for us in the wee hours of Monday morning. Now if only the weather would actually cooperate !!

St.Patrick's Day

 Truth be told we don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day much here but we do celebrate our granddaughter who was born on this day 14 years ago!!  The strange thing is her father ( son #2) was born on Valentine's Day.
However you celebrate ( or don't)  as the frogs tell you.....

                 Granny Marigold

This and That

This is the cherry pie I made for Pi day. I find making "rustic" pies so easy, much better than having to cut out circles of dough. I sprinkled the crust with a bit of sugar. The pie was a big success.

Nancy at Cozy Thyme Cottage has asked me for my pie dough recipe and how I freeze it. I use the recipe on the Tenderflake box. I divide the dough into 5 or 6 portions and flatten them out in a circle. Put parchment paper ( or something similar) in between the disks before freezing so they can be pried apart easily when you need one.

Easter is just a month away. I asked my little grandson if he was at all interested in putting out some of my many Easter figurines. I thought maybe at 7 he wouldn't want to any more but he did... and he arranged some here and there in the dining room. Here's the table arrangement. The tea pot in the middle plays "Put on your Easter Bonnet", a song written in the 1930's by Irving Berlin.  My mom used to sing that song and I guess I must have  also because when my granddaughter heard the tune she broke into song. I got teary thinking how thrilled my mom would be to know that song lives on in her GGD.

                 ...

I got out my Beatrix Potter cookie tin. My GS was all excited about it until he found out that it had absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter ( of whom he is a big fan).

My "Bridal  Crown" Daffodils have grown very tall as daffs will do indoors but they are blooming and have a lovely scent.

That's about it for this post. Thanks for visiting,


Granny Marigold

Pi Day

I  was  informed by my 7 tear old grandson that it was pie day. He wasn't too sure, he said, of why it was, but his mom was making pie and he was pretty happy about that. Took me a minute to realize what in the world the 14th of March had to do with pie. Then the light went on and I realized, like you probably already knew, that 3.14 ( March 14) is Pi ( pie) hence pi day.  What kind will you choose? These lovely pics are of course off the internet. Mine will not look nearly as good.

Luckily I have frozen disks of pie dough in the freezer and if I'm careful I can defrost one in the microwave and get a cherry pie in the oven before too long.

Thanks for visiting. I'm off now to make a pie.



Granny Marigold

More Snow

This is what my back yard looks like after yet another snowfall.  Huge flakes were falling when we went for our morning walk but luckily it didn't last too long.

           I brought in a bunch of Snowdrops. They look rather pathetic but hopefully they'll perk up.

Just for fun I'm posting this picture of my granddaughter "trying out" the soaker tub in my second oldest daughter's new place.  Isn't she cute?

(I do have her permission to post it, in case you wondered.)

Thanks for visiting,


                    Granny Marigold

Friday Flowers and Bunnies

It's a very wet day and after breakfast my DH suggested we go to the Plant shop we like, the one out of town, that just opened up for the season.  There were so many good prices and so much temptation, well, you know I gave in.  Some of these plants are destined for outside once the weather cooperate, others will stay in my sunroom.

The bulb in the bag is a Begonia Pendula Red. If I'm lucky it will grow and thrive, eventually looking like the picture below.  In the Fall I can store the bulb like I store Dahlias etc.. and hopefully have it grow year after year.

              I've been invaded by the Springtime Bunnies. They sit on the stairs.....

               ...and they perch on my bed.

Thanks for visiting,


             Have a great week end. 

                                Granny Marigold