Hello there! I escaped for a couple of days, and have returned to my little space on the planet…
I packed my bags full of trinkets and such, drove to the airport to pick up my brother (whom I adore), and we had a mini road trip to the family pad. He surprised Mammie for her birthday. It was wonderful.
I took a few garden treats with me to gift to my Mombie. A box of my babies…
And, oodles of fresh flowers picked from my garden. I also gave her a fairytale garden fountain and a necklace I made (she owns about 800 of my jewelry pieces by now). Plus, some zinnias I started for her in a pot, and some potted pumpkin sprouts, that sprung up while I was there. My dad was fascinated by them. I hope they grow and gift her some punkin' babes.
We ate too much.
At least I did.
I am still full.
Mombie made her own fave coconut cake. She insisted, but my brother and I stopped and got her a beautiful white chocolate and raspberry cake anyways. For good measure. Oh and, oodles of balloons that I had pre-ordered.
Her cake was unreal. She only makes things from scratch, using fresh ingredients. Like real coconuts, etc.
It was a blast, but I missed my three boys.
Especially the furry ones 😉
I was eager to see them when I finally turned onto the street, that takes me to the street our love shack lives on.
I missed the gourd tree too.
It makes me feel like, if I pretend just right enough, I can slip into a fairytale, of the real variety. If only for a smidgen.
Below is the back side of the tree, also covered.
Gourds are born of white flowers.
Where most squash (pumpkins etc.) have yellow to orange flowers.
I spy a great huge gooseneck gourd!
And lots of birdhouse babies…
There are some huge ones hanging above head, but it got too dark to take their picture today. I will take some in the daylight.
As soon as I arrived, I picked some edibles, and we even gobbled some tender sweet corn, which will be super ready in about a week. It is yumm when it is young. We cooked it, slathered on some butter, and shared it (sometimes we eat the corn raw when it is young).
My juicer was waiting for me to juice a large glass of one of my favorite treats. Beet carrot juice. I also love carrot alone. And, lots of other juices. I love juicing. Do you?
Now I have to unpack all of my stuff.
Something I am not good at, at all.
I have to decompress.
And get back into the swing of my week.
How are you??
Tell me something delicious. Won't you, please?
A good tale would so hit the spot.
Even an invented one would be grand 😉
How about it?
Love, V
I love hearing the stories of your family…you sound really close and it’s evident you love each other dearly! Your mom is very lucky to own 800 of your jewelry pieces! I’ve been busy creating some fun jewels this week. Thanks to your blog I am more inspired to make everyday special and full of fun. I made a tent for my boys in the basement with vintage sheets and lights. They also have a comfy mattress inside and have been sleeping in there for over a week. I don’t think they’ll ever go back to their room! LOL Thanks for the continued inspiration!
Hello Miss Vanessa, glad you had a lovely time with your Mammie, Family time is so important. I am currently with family in Tucson, while up here we will be going to Kartchner Caverns, wondering if you’ve? Hope you get plenty of rest so you can return to your wonderfully magic garden. 😉
Hmmm. A good tale… ooh! I know one, from my local news actually.
A year ago an 11 year old boy scribbled a note and put it in a bottle which he tossed into the bay here in Oregon. A couple days ago a 9 year old girl in Hawaii was beach-combing and found the bottle (with note) floating in a tide pool. The note included his mother’s email address so the two have been emailing and plan to become pen pals. How fun is that?
Your blog helps me not to give up hope.
Happy Birthday to your wonderful mother!
Her coconut cake looks so scrumptious!
Glad you were able to have some fun with your family siblings too. There is nothing like being close to your brother and sisters. My two sisters and two brother are my best friends and we can talk about anything under the sun and are always ‘there’ for each other come rain or shine. Thank you for sharing your wonderful life!
Miss Teresa
( did you read my quirky comment on the dream post of ‘Through the Secret Keyhole’?)
You are probably still unwinding from your trip. Sweet dreams…they’re the best!
Happy birthday to your dear mother. Sounds like a wonderful trip. And her cake looks so yummy. My grandmother’s fave cake was coconut.
A tale. My hubby had a birthday so granddaughter and I made a cake. It had chocolate layers with cherries in between and on top. And loads of fluffy cream cheese/whipped cream frosting. Little bits of chocolate on top.
When she finished frosting (a very important task when you are 9) the cake she gave me a huge smile and said “nannie it’s my first layer cake”. (She has many cupcakes, gingerbread men and cookies under her little belt) And everyone who tried her cake wanted her recipe.
Simple, small joys are what help me to stay sane.
I labored all day on cookies – lots of detailed piping. After dinner my husband suggested we go to the pet store and buy some toys for our new kitten and her two older brothers. When we returned, my cookies were everywhere and there was a distinct cat paw print in the center of two of the cookies that hadn’t quite dried yet. I played Nancy Drew girl detective and matched the paw print to the culprit – it was my white cat Ya Ya (he has a sweet tooth so it was no real surprise). One whole day of baking down the tubes and yet I didn’t get mad. All I could do was laugh. It looked like one of those hand in plaster crafts that kids do for their parents. I also loved the irony of being at Petsmart lovingly chosing cat toys. 🙂
Oh my, What amazing stories you tell and am glad your trip home was wonderful. It is always fun to hear your stories. Your mom’s cake sure looked good.
I have been having computer difficulties and have not been around to visit. I need to catch up. Happy Birthday to your mom.
Since I have not been online I am tearing the house apart. Since we’ve had unbearable heat and no A/C (it is not supposed to be this hot up north) I am very slow putting things back. Right now we are the white trash house with upholstered furniture on the front porch, a coffee table on bricks in the side yard, and cardboard boxes in the bedroom windows. (Actually filling the whole wall in front of windows.) When I get into a job I go whole hog.
Did you see the news reports about more restaurants selling meals made of whole pigs? (tails & snouts, etc) Sorry – stray thought.
My cats are happy with me because I added a giant 4 level carpeted cat tree house to the bathroom. It was just wasted space before.
Maybe I had best get back to my project.
I would not mind slipping into your life for a looong weekend.
{{ something you R now growing
has Magic Beans
inside…
~~truly!~~
and
i DO wonder
if & when they will B found
and
if they will B found by U.
who can really
say? }}
🙂
PS–a mum
who makes Cake From Scratch
is such a Treasure
to behold!
i feel certain U were one of her Best Gifts ever
in her whole life…
1)A wee story-let 🙂
I was going into a store the other day – entered through the automatic doors, and passed a tiny girl and her mother on my way. As the doors closed behind us, the little girl turned her head and chirped “Thank you, doors!”. Adorable.
2)And a request 🙂
Would your mum be willing to share her coconut cake recipe? It looks so lovely…
B.
Happy belated birthday to your mamma. 🙂 That cake looks amazing!!!! I can imagine it was delicious. While it’s fun traveling, it is always so comforting to be home. 🙂 Here is a little tidbit for you…we have baby birds in the yard! Sweet little things they are. 🙂 We are not certain as to what they might be…but we think they are wrens. How magical that they decided to nest in our yard!!! 🙂 xoxo
OK you asked for it… a tale that is… check your email…
Lots of love,
Tricia
I have been secretly reading your blog without your knowing it for several months and decided finally that that was too sneeky and would out myself. I don’t know how old you are, but you amaze me. The amount of things you do in one day would take me a month. I do work, work, work all day in an office being a super-nice (in my opinion) federal prosecutor, but you grow vegetables, paint, make dolls and dollhouses, dance, sing, plan huge parties, take 100s of photographs (beautiful ones too), dress really cool, have an adorable Mister Lovee and furry babies to care for, cook, bake, have an awesome studio and home and that’s just to start. Just saying, I really admire you, your creative spirit and your energy. I am a super-beginner, crafter, artist and get immense inspiration from your blog, especially your tales. I do love to write so I will send you a good story soon and hope we can be friends. I am a 47 year old girl in virginia with my own mister lovee, two little girl lovies, and one tiny papillon furry baby and a new studio room in my house made by my mister lovee – i love that name, but will make up a different one for mine because your mister lovee is unique as is mine. Will you be my friend?
Leslie
Well Vanessa, I have to agree with Leslie.(above) On just about everything she typed.
Crikey! Making a coconut cake using ridgey didge coconuts…it’s just all beyond me.
I need my cake to start it’s life in a cardboard box. Same as any soups and casseroles. My daughter and I have a standard joke about our cooking skills. When we shop for groceries, we have to pick up a few bottles/packets/sachets of ‘stone soup’.
Do you know the fairytale about ‘stone soup’??
Anyway, she is slowly spoiling the ‘fun’ as since she has been married to a man who has definite cooking skills…she has picked up a few hints, and along with Mr Google’s help…she is now able to create delicious dinners without the need for the ‘stone’. Heeheehee…slowy, but probably very surely…I may also be able to. (fingers crossed)
Anyway, getting back to your garden. Don’t those pumpkin and gourd vines look marvellous! All spawling and rambling freely.
Love to see what you have been up to in your neck of the woods.
~Vicki
I love to magic up some homemade cakes from scratch….I began making my brother’s birthday cakes when we were children and now I try to invent a cake for each of my beloved family and friends. My Mr. Lovee is a banana rum cake kind of guy, my nephew a triple chocolate Bundt person. They all LOVE their special creations.Secret ingredient in all of them…lots of happy thoughts and a a generous pinch of joy.
Lovely! My tale is that I recently got back from a big trip to Comic-Con (and if you don’t know what that is then you are not a huge nerd like me) and it was SUPER awesome. Best trip ever!
ps. I had a mini pumpkin sitting in my house since last Halloween. Recently I went to pick it up and it broke apart in my hand because it was all rotty. So, being inspired by you of course, I plunked the whole thing into a pot on the patio and am hoping it grows!!!
Alia, it will grow for sure!!! Make sure you weed out the sprouts, so
they are not too close together 😉 And you might even get a couple babies,
or more 😉 Of course i know what ComiCon is, how exciting!!
Did you dress up?
Mmmmmm, would you share, perhaps, a small piece of the scrumpdillyicious coconut cake…I will put on a fresh pot of coffee? One lump of sugar…or perhaps two? Personally, I like a little coffee with my cream….your weekend looked like a lovely time with your family, and what a lucky mom to have such an incredible daughter….knowing you took her pumpkin sprouts got me all giddy! You know I can’t wait to plant me some pumpkins! Oh me oh my, we are getting one heck of a storm up here in Phoenix! Better go look get the lantern, we often lose power in these August storms! 60 mile an hour winds are even in the forecast, eek! Looks like one heck of a lightening storm tonight too….better go batten down the hatches and secure all my goodies on my patio! We may have a wild ride into the land of Oz….
Missy V, when I grow up I want to be just like you! The poop lady.
Today is blog catch up day – Not visited you for a while. Your garden is as enchanting as ever. Its good to have some family time. Look forward to reading more of your fanciful adventures soon ( missed you ! )
Welcome back, V—your vines are so pretty.
Snice.
Barbara, I LOVE the Thank You Doors tale, how beyond sweet! 😉 I will
ask Mammie for the recipe for certain.
Oh, those beautiful rats Lisa!!! ;))) And to think, they were taking
their own kitty cookie gifts, whilst you were out buying them gifts.
Naughty Naughty 😉 Make them cleanhouse as pennance, tee
heeee. Now there is a dream. Furry babies cleaning the house!
😉
V,
I accidentally grew pumpkins and what I thought was squash this summer. My squash flowers are yellow, and pumpkin flowers are a yellow-orange. What confused me is that what appears to be a guord has grown from my squash flowers… Are these edible?
I love every post of your yard and gardens. They are inspiring to say the least. <3
Tiff
Storytime:
My youngest (6) came into the kitchen the other night with shoes on her feet, umbrella in hand, and my mustard yellow overnight bag strapped across her chest. I asked Haylee if she was running away. She said, "No, why?" I said that if she was running away then I would like to know where she was going. She then said, "Awwww, Mommy. Is that so you can come visit me?"
Haha! At least I know there will be no hard feelings. 😛
The other day it started raining here….it wasn’t a hard rain….but it was harder than a sprinkle….my little one wasn’t home but I decided that was going to go out and play in it anyway….all by myself….and how fun it was!
Here is something delicious for you, Lady V.
Last week, I went out to spend the day with a good friend of mine.
We had dessert at an opulent looking and feeling place called Sant Ambroeus. I had the most delicious hot chocolate ever!! Then I had my first gelato in vanilla. Oh, my. What I have been missing. It was delicious and bliss!
One more thing, I made my first batch of scones. So good!!!