Five Things Thursday

I have some fun stuff to share today.

1. My nephew, Zachary sent me these photos of making gnocchi with his kids. It was my grandma Preli's recipe that I sent him years ago. 

They look perfect! What a great thing to make with kids. I haven't made them in quite some time. But, I'm going to! here is my grandma's recipe:

Grandma Preli’s Gnocchis 

I wrote this recipe down as she made them. She didn’t really measure anything.

1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (can use leftover mashed potatoes or instant—I’ve used both and you can’t tell the difference)

2 egg yolks

2 cups flour

1. Mix slightly beaten egg yolks in to the mashed potatoes. Slowly add flour, mixing well. Knead with hands until dough doesn’t stick adding more flour if necessary. 

2. Pinch off about a walnut sized piece of dough. Roll with your hands until you have a rope about the size of your finger. Cut in to one inch pieces. With the tines of a fork, roll the piece diagonally toward you and then flip it. (I don’t really know how to describe this). Place on lightly floured surface and let dry at least an hour (I usually make them in the morning and cook them at night).

3. Drop in boiling water and cook until they float to the top. Strain and serve.

They are really so easy!

2. This pretty much says it all:

And if you add books and the tv, I could totally live there!

3. How about a beautiful picture of Nashville?

This one came from channel 2 news. The colors...this would make a pretty picture--framed. Hmmm, I just might have to do it. 

4. Are you sick of my garden pictures yet? I hope not 'cause there are more a-comin'!

These beauties are perennial hibiscus. They start blooming the end of June through the fall. Lots of flowers, but they only last one day. Even though the blooms are short-lived, they are continuous so it seems never-ending. It's hard to tell, but those flowers are 10" in diameter. The ones behind these are a deeper pink. It is just starting to bloom, so I'll have to get a picture.

5. And last, I just had to share this little guy.

See him?

He is about the flattest thing. If he hadn't flown by me and landed, I never would have noticed him. He's tiny--about 1 inch in width. He let me get up close to take this picture. 

I'm spending so much time outside enjoying the beauty--even in the heat. As long as I have shade, I'm fine. I enjoy reading to the chirping of the birds--okay, to the annoying mowers, not so much! But that's a frustration and it's not Friday!

What I Buy Wednesday

I didn't buy anything this week, so thought I would share what I did with the things I bought a couple weeks ago. Remember the lemon stuff?

Well, here's my first picture. I got the yellow kilanchoe plant at Kroger for $6.99---oh, I did buy that. And the lemons. I told Butch to get me 10 of them. At 89 cents apiece, that was costly for something that molded in two days! I made fresh lemonade out of the remaining 9. That gave me the chance to use the juicer gizmo I bought--probably 20 years ago and have only used once!! I guess it was kinda' expensive for lemonade, but I sure did like the look. The herbs on the other side came from Mitchell and Emily's garden. I just stuck them in a glass of water. They look great and are holding up nicely a week later. 

We had friends over last Friday night. I forgot to show the lemon trays in the top photo as well as the bowl of Lemonheads. I'm enjoying this whole lemon theme and will definitely use it again--the best 50 bucks--well add the 9 bucks for lemons, 7 bucks for the plant and I don't remember how much for the Lemonheads--so more like the best--almost 70 bucks for an awesome tablescape! I do love a beautiful table! Plus, that yellow is so bright and cheery! You know what I always say (okay, this is the very first time), "If you can't wear yellow, decorate with it!"

Thanks to Diane (between Mindy and Me), we got t his picture. She's so good about remembering to organize it.

The boys were in the other room. Beth Ann arrived late, so wasn't in the picture. I love all of these gals! 

You might remember my sewing machine woes. Well, getting it up and running was on my to do list for a very long time. I finally fixed it this week--which allowed me to use the other new things I bought awhile back.

My friends who are "sewers" (do not confuse that with the underground type), told me that I needed good quality thread--Guterman is supposed to be the best. And you know me--nothing but the best and I don't care how much it costs!

Nancy told me about buying the singer pre-wound bobbins. She is my "shortie" friend in the above picture. Thank you girlies, I don't know what I'd do without you! Now that I'm back in business. I can't wait to do some fancy stitching on my scrapbook pages. 

Stay tuned...(I know I'm being overly optimistic here. I'll screw it up again--you can be sure of that!)

Travel Tuesday

Mindy went with Butch to Guatemala a couple weeks ago. He was happy to have her along and I'm happy that she went. I do not have any desire to go to South America, so I'm glad that he didn't have to go alone--although he was fully prepared to do it. He's done it before!

Anyway, here are a few pictures.

They had a good time despite the hassle of traveling on both ends. The sad part of it was that they left on Butch's birthday and with all the airline issues, they didn't arrive in Guatemala until 2 a.m. rather than noon--where they had the whole afternoon planned. Then on the return, it was Father's Day and they didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. 

Now that's how you can ruin a trip! I told Butch that I'm pretty tired of dealing with airports and unreliable flights. We'll see how our family vacation goes in August. That may determine my travel plans for the future. 

And then when they got back, this happened:

Mindy had her 1000th class at Barry's Bootcamp. It's torture. It's hard for me to understand why someone would pay so much to be tortured--but it was worth it for her. She's in the best shape ever! 

Stephanie got to Barry's too, so she was there to celebrate with her. Congrats Mindy, that's quite an accomplishment. 

As for me, I'll just keep walking. That's how I travel when I'm not actually traveling!

Monday Mystery

So, on one of my recent walks in the neighborhood, I came across this "rock." Obviously it's fake. And it's kind of stupid. What the heck is the point?

Then I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if it's to hide their house key?" I didn't tip it over to check. It's just so random. Could it be another sort of animal trap? 

Who knows? It's a mystery for sure.