Good Grief! What a post!

Dear friends, your birthday wishes just made my day!! Thank you so much!!

Have you ever heard of Schoolhouse Lilies? Well, I never had until a friend way out in Texas sent me some...

I met Sandra through my blog. She told me about the pretty red lilies and how they bloom every year around the time school starts. 

There were twice this many lilies in the box Sandra sent but I planted some in another spot. How dumb of me! Wish now I had put them all here. Anyhow, Sandra said move them in December. The picture does not show the true beauty of these lilies and their vibrant red color. Thank you again Sandra.

and about the Succulents. not a very pretty picture...

but after seeing how my one succulent thrived with very little care...

well, I decided to try more and found on Ebay, a place to order a sample box of little cuttings for around ten dollars...

It's amazing how quickly these little pieces started growing, using just the regular old potting soil I have on hand.

Need to read now, how to care for these plants and make them prettier.

The garden is looking awfully bad these days, in fact, I've pulled up the bean vines and a few other things...

didn't know Poppy had the camera! The squash plants have been amazing. Look how big and pretty these are still, and yesterday I picked ten large squash. Been meaning to tell you about the morning glory vine...

See how yellow and dying everything looks? Soon will be fall! Anyhow, last year the vine didn't grow so big but was covered in pretty purple blooms, surrounding the little blue bird box there on the center post. Can you see it?

This year I wanted bigger and better so bought a pack of the giant blue morning glory seeds, and do you know, not even one bloom! Not one! Not all summer! but not to be outdone...

this tiny purple morning glory seed found its way through the dry soil and bloomed. Sure hurt my heart. It wanted to climb the fence but it's too late. Wish there was some way to save it for next summer. I feel just awful. There's lesson here..."be content with what you have".

The okra plants are still pretty...

and a little update on the animals...It is absolutely amazing how Eli, and now Ellie, hear and see things, long before we can. The barking brings us running to the door...

thinking maybe a bear has wandered into the yard. Here's what it was this time...

and did I tell you, Smokey got caught outside in a rain storm, a week or so ago? We were worried about him...Poppy called me to the front ddoor and said, look! There sat Smokey, dripping wet...

Look at those cute feet hanging from the towel. Wasn't long before he was dry and telling Poppy how awful it was...

Oops! Please overlook the hole in the chair. I'm done patching and mending. It's time for new living room seating...and Poppy agrees. Our lovely leather set is now thirty two years old! Now to talk Eli into giving up his big leather chair. We'll see. I will probably have to remind Poppy a hundred times too. :(

Woo, made an appearance from under the sewing table to say "hey"...

He is still a sweetie and would sit in my lap 24/7, if only I had the time. 

All is well in the chicken lot...

I've been letting them out to roam in the yard every day now and they love it! Poppy put wire on the small door to let in more air, and maybe create a breeze from the two windows, these hot summer nights...

and I promise, there is an end to this post. Here's the last...

This hen said she would be on the veranda today, laying her egg...

That's all folks! Thank you, if you're still here. 

Love,

Henny

I don't feel any older

Hey friends, I didn't mean to go away and stay so long. Guess today, September 14th., is good a day as any to do a post...it's my birthday! 

Normally, I don't mention my birthday, and probably would not have thought about it today except Poppy was sitting at the bar eating his morning cereal when he looked up and said, "oh, Happy Birthday". 

Did you have birthday parties, growing up? I remember one. It was when I turned thirteen. Oh, it was a blast! We were living in Robbins, just the best little town in North Carolina...and this is the very living room...

where I, and all my friends, sat on the floor playing, "spin the bottle".  So exciting...I got to walk around the block with Ronnie G. the cutest boy in class. There were lots of presents to open and it's funny, the gift from Ronnie was a small jewelry box made of wood with the mirror missing from inside the lid. I remember hearing mama say, it probably belonged to Ronnie's mother. That was fine with me!

Don't have any pictures  from that party, but this is me, twelve years old and only two months before my thirteenth birthday...

Can you imagine! Guess no one told me plaids and flowers don't go together, and where did that Chinese hat come from? No wonder I didn't have a boyfriend! Well, I was always more interested in dolls than boys anyhow. 

Oh, about the folks in the living room picture...

had nothing to do with my birthday, just wanted to show you where my party was held. This picture was taken after a big Thanksgiving dinner back in the 1950s and that was my Uncle Myron on the left, Cousin Clyde, Cousin John in the cowboy suit, and his dad, my Uncle Bill. The foot showing in the picture was daddy's. 

So, how about a shot of me in a bathing suit...

As I said, no wonder I didn's have a boy friend. :) Okay, enough about me and my birthday.  

Have another doll to show you...

Remember the Tomy, "Kimberly" doll? This doll came out the same year as the famous "Cabbage Patch" dolls, which is why "Kimberly" never made it that big.  But isn't she beautiful? 

Actually, I have two Kimberly dolls; found both in a thrift store several years ago...

and both dolls have ink marks that wouldn't come off. Had to make them some clothes too. Anyhow...

I've been busy making tiny dolls for the upcoming craft show. It's tedious work but I love it...

most of these are not finished. 

Well, thank you for visiting. Hope I didn't bore you with a post about me. Hope to be back soon...oh, to tell you about the succelents. 

Love,

Henny

 

Down Henny Penny Lane...

early this morning, I asked Poppy to hold onto Ellie while I made a picture of the sky. It was so pretty! and even better with these three walking up ahead...

Poppy walks Eli, while Ellie skips along with me. Ellie and I laugh at the two slow pokes as we take three or four steps to their one. 

The unsettled looking clouds are probably from Hurricane Ida as she moves north. We are in a slight risk for high winds or an isolated tornado later today. What we need most right now is rain.

I'm feeling mighty proud this morning! Well, actually  it's nothing to be proud of, but you know how I have always said, "I am not a pickle maker or a jelly maker", but would you look at this...

two jars of fig preserves,  made by me, that actually turned out right.

After thirty two years of living here, we finally have two fruit trees that give us fruit; a fig tree and a pear tree.  Lots of figs this summer...

but not many pears. There are three or four pears on the tree I'm keeping an eye on. Oh, and talking about preserves and canning...

last week when I posted pictures of the peppers, I forgot to mention the three jars of pickled green beans on the shelf...thanks to "Granny Marigold". She posted about canning pickled green beans. Well, I got all excited and found a recipe online and made these three jars. "Granny Marigold" offered to send me her recipe, which I would love to have. Thank you!

Might as well show you one more jar of delicious looking...

HONEY! This is a quart of "Blue Bird" honey, made by bees just a quarter mile on down Henny Penny Lane. Our soon to be new neighbor stopped by yesterday and gave us this early Christmas present. Steve is a bee keeper. We are so excited about Steve and his wife building their new home and moving out here. 

Well, back to our walk...

Actually, this is a different picture from the first one, Poppy and the dogs were a little farther down the road and the sun was brighter. Just had to take two. The sky was so pretty.

and about this pot sitting in the yard... 

it's a big old pot that sits near the kitchen sink to hold food scraps, used paper towels, napkins, etc. for the compost bin. After emptying it this morning I sat it here in the hot sun. The sun dries it completely. It almost looks bleached. Don't you love the sun for making things smell clean and fresh?

Funny, I had other things in mind to talk about when I sat down  to do this post, but will just go with this for now. Promise to get away from the garden and food stuff next time. :) Working on more clothespin dolls and bonnets, and have another special doll or two but will save all this for next time. 

Sure appreciate your visiting.

Love,

Henny