Random, unpopular "stuff"

When I started back to blogging recently, it was for my benefit. I wanted a "journal" if you will, to post about our lives (not personal things), but Sophie, the garden, the weather, or just whatever I choose to blog about. So this will be one of those "random" post that are not popular with most, but that is ok, I can come back a year from now and enjoy if I choose, so here goes.....for me.....and my memories later on.

Can you believe we are still using our fireplace in May?? Yes, I had the fire on Monday, May 6th, 2013 because it was so cold and wet! This is so unusual for Mississippi weather.

My ferns were brought into the garage over the week end because we had a frost and temps were in the 30's......in May!

I had a "volunteer" geranium coming up in this little pot that I have been nursing, only to find Sophie Parsons sitting on top of it guarding whatever she buried, probably that big chunk of pizza that I saw her running thru the house with earlier.

Yes, she was guarding it from Sonny. Poor Sonny, he is so old,  he may not be with us this time next year. He puts up with so much off of Sophie because she rules! Sonny is the best also.

This was a chair that I made a U-turn in the road to go back for one day and threw it in the back of the 4-runner. Sophie is so nosy, she had the best time riding home in this chair,  and she even went to sleep in it. I think that is why her hair is so "tosseled" here.

 

This is Sparky. She probably weighs 100 lbs. People think she looks like a big black bear, but in her mind, she is Sophie's size. Sparky thinks she is a lap dog. She is another one of my rescues. She is at the door barking and demanding some "people" food in this pic.

Enough "randomness" for today. This time next year, I can look back at these things that were going on around here if I choose:)

Snicker Salad

Here is an "Oh So Yummy" recipe for you sweet lover's that do not like to cook. The most difficult part of the recipe was chopping the snickers bars! For you health food people, it does have apples in it. Does that count??
I found this recipe here, (I beleive in giving credit where credit is due) but tweaked it to fit my liking, just like any good cook would do (wink).  Ya'll know a good cook never follows the recipe, right????

I didn't even think about taking pictures and posting this recipe for everyone until after I had already made a huge mess.

Chopping the snicker's was the hardest part, because for some reason, I came in and threw them in the freezer. Why?? I have no idea. It made them really, really hard to cut, so don't do that!

 Then, you just sling all of the ingredients over into the kitchen aid and turn it on and let it mix.

 And.......WA- LAAA.....simple, but sweet goodness!

And I guess your wondering about the jelly jar?? Well, I had no cute glass desert dishes to serve this to company in, so I just put it into mason jars and put the lid on them. For the ones who were too full for desert, I just sent it home with them so that I didn't have to finish off the whole thing the next day! I had this left over, so I filled the jelly jar for one of my walking buddies.

Alright, here is the recipe after I "tweaked" it to my liking

2 8oz packages of soft cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 32oz tub of cool whip
2 granny smith apples
12 regular size snickers bars

Chill at least an hour before serving, and the mason jar idea worked wonderfully for us!
If only I had some pecans in the freezer, I would have topped each serving with them...and a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of that, yum!

I am joining Elaine at Sunny Simple Life Sunday blog party, and Yvonne over at StoneGable for On The Menu Monday.

Toile wallpaper

Remember when I told you that BACK DOOR GUEST are the best?? Well, that is true, but entering through our laundry room was not the most inviting room for our back door guest, so I spruced it up a bit with some toile wall paper.

 Of coarse, I had to add some "junk" finds.

 An old whiskey barrel and some over sized moss balls.

 An old cotton basket and watering can with some fake greenery.

 Of coarse there are those things that are staples in this room, and things that I have no place to hide, and an old out-of-date washer and dryer that still work, and will stay as long as they continue to work :)

Just another staple in our home that I am proud to be able to offer to any 4-legged visitor that comes thru the back door.

You can see how long and narrow this room is, which made it most difficult to photograph. See Sophie's little doggy door??

The big upright freezer is also not pretty, but it will be filled with fresh garden food soon. There are just some rooms that will never be the most inviting in a home, but I am really liking the way that the toile paper cozied this un-inviting room up.

I left the ceiling a shade of brown because (1) I didn't want  wasn't able to paint it after hanging paper on these 10 feet walls, and (2) I really like the brown color with the red wall paper.

Now,we are leaving out of the laundry room headed into the kitchen where I hope you will join me for my next post on the easiest, and yummiest recipe ever!

I am joining Sherry over at her  Open House Party.

Back door guest are the best!

That's right, back door guest are the best, so I decided to tidy up on the back porch a bit. Come take a look.

My friend made the monogram for me. They are made out of light weight medal so that they won't warp or rot if you use them outside. He ships if you're interested, shoot me an e-mail.

The bulldog is not here on purpose. I have to decorate around him because he is too heavy to move. He actually weighs more than I do, so he will be here forever I guess. Anyhoo, I am a proud rebel girl :)

I hope one day soon to make this porch into an "outdoor oasis" with a farm table made by hubby, huge hanging lanterns, and I really want to paint the ceiling blue like you see in all of the old houses. Until then, this will have to do. This is Sophie's play area too, see her little doggy door? Our back yard is fenced in for her, and our lab stays in here most of the time too. They love each other to pieces.

This back door leads into the laundry room, which I wall-papered several months ago in a toile paper. LOVING it! I will show you in a later post. Anyway, if you stop by, just come in the back way and don't worry about kicking your shoes off.

Also, be careful and don't trip over these two on your way in.

Starting over "fresh and clean"

When I say starting over fresh and clean, I mean for the summer season, and with a new blog.

I think some of you may recognize the house, with the exception of a different color front door and fresh mulch, it should be very familiar to some, not so much to others.

I closed my other blog, Our Southern Country Home and Farm. I needed a fresh start, just like my yard and house did for the summer season.

I think I need a chance to "re-bloom", kinda like this little clematis vine.

The flowers in the pine thicket have been slow to bloom this year, and that is ok, they will eventually. I know it will be slow building a whole new set of followers, but I am ok with that too.

Just a fresh start........ for both the yard and blog.

 This is a brand new knock out rose that hubby bought for my birthday, isn't it beautiful? I want to be able to look back a year from now and see how much it has grown.
I love being able to look back and see what has changed, or moved forward. Blogging is wonderful for that.

 The front door was red for five years, so it got a fresh coat of paint for a fresh start. Not as bold as the red, but it made quite a statement because the husband noticed it without me saying a word.

I love it when it is time to put out the fresh green ferns for the year. We will see what they look like at the end of the summer. Mississippi heat is tough on things.

While working in the yard today, this little critter was crawling around in the landscape. Don't worry, I took this pic from inside, where I stayed until it had time to leave!

I hope to see some old blogging buddies, and I appreciate the words of encouragement from all of the ones who have sent e-mails. I have never been one of the everyday bloggers, and sometimes may not post for days at a time, but I am back and can't wait to visit with some of you :)