Green Salads vs. Jello Cool Whip Fruit Salads

Since I've had so many "medical" things done to me lately with the skin cancer, surgery on hands for trigger fingers...sigh, endoscopy, where I never shut up talking when they pulled the tube out and I have no recollection of it to the delight of my hubby's warped sense of humor, etc., a friend sent me this. It's so funny I have to share it with you.

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I love salads: green vegetable salads, chicken salad, ham salad, Italian pasta salad, macaroni salad with olives, celery, onion and mayonnaise. I'm a salad girl. We always had a salad in my parent's house. I grew up eating salads. Then I joined the LDS Church and salads changed.

When we would go to a friend's house or a ward dinner, salad would be what Love Bunny and I called dessert, usually consisting of Jello in some form or another and fruit and whipped cream or Cool Whip in it. To us that is dessert or a fruit dessert. Fruit salad for us was apples, oranges, maraschino cherries,pineapple and sugar and the cherry juice. When hubs is in charge of a ward dinner, he tells them green salad, not a dessert salad. They will inevitably not listen and will bring a sweet dessert salad. I'll bring the vegetable salad. I'll then eat their dessert salad after the main course. Now, truthfully, I love the salads some of our friends make but nothing is a salad without lettuce and tomatoes to us. Here is my regular salad if we're just having a salad for a dinner.

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Carrots
Cucumbers
Red bell pepper
Kidney Beans
Pineapple
Craisins
Red onion, not yellow, love the color!
Shredded cheese, preferably extra sharp, our favorite
Pecans for me and sunflower seeds for hubs
Poppy seed dressing for me and Fat Free Italian for him
Topped off with salt and freshly ground black Tellicherry pepper. I love pepper, but especially freshly ground, which we use around here a lot. I have to limit my pepper because of my kidney stones (too numerous to count, as the doc says). And pepper is not good for people with kidney stones.

It's delicious. I love pineapple. A lot! I might throw in strawberries if I have them but don't always and they don't come in cans like pineapple. These fruits are my favorites—watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, coconut, strawberries.
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The woman who took this photo is a woman who understands my heart. It's perfect in my eyes.

A beautiful home in Europe. Yep, we all love these old stone homes that recall petite pleasures to our hearts.

A beautiful door with a gorgeous patina. This is one of my favorite colors. I love to see it on outside faucets or lead pipes.

An old forgotten wood box brought to its magnificence by a few pots of flowers.

A little french soap dish holding geegaws and buttons.

A pleasurable area to dine with friends.

A beautiful vintage pink enameled pitcher.

I found this pillow stunning! She probably had a "bad spot" in the petit point and did a creative fix to it. Gorgeous!

Another bedroom I find exceptionally appealing. That step-up area with a chair for reading is a plus. Just lovely.

One of the most colorful and delightful photos I've ever seen. I couldn't resist showing it to you.

This reminds me of Southern California and I have no idea why. Maybe it's the lusciousness of the garden or the way the golden sun filters through the trees of wisteria or maybe it's the smoginess of the sky. I love California.

I don't think I've ever seen such pretty pink frames all clustered together like this and I love it.

This homeowner has exceptional talent decorating like this. I find it lovely.

Now this is a true tree house! Isn't it cute?

For a tiny kitchen, I love this layout. Mine's small, but not as cute as this one.

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Tidbit:

When a male skier falls down, he tends to fall on his face. A woman skier tends to fall on her back.
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Getting Rid of Stuff

Another reminder of my pinterest page. There are now over 8,500 photos/images on there that are not necessarily on here yet. If you wish to view them, I suggest you go there and become a follower as I pin on a regular basis, usually at least a couple of times a week.
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We're still working on downsizing our stuff in this house. The other day I gave some solid oak dining chairs to a friend and hubs asked if I really wanted to get rid of them and I said yes very firmly. It seems like he likes all the stuff I've bought over the last 35 years, but there is just too much and at our age; it's time. I don't want to have my kids to have to do it for us if something happened. That's not fair to them and they pretty much don't want anything. They have their own "stuff" and don't need any more. I understand that. Just a few personal things will go to them and the grandkids. I'm just tired of having so much that we can't move things around in this house. My daughter is doing the same thing at her home in California.

Nice weather the past week. Today I asked hubs what the weather was going to be and he immediately pulls out his iPhone. He checks his iPhone for the weather every day. I look out the window and the thermometer on the patio to see what the temperature is. Much easier. He drives me absolutely nuts with the hundreds of apps he has on his iPhone. If I mention something, he has an app for it. Sigh. I may take up drinking and never be sober again!!
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It's so pretty today that it looks almost like this around here. Curtains billowing in the breeze, clear skies and a beautiful day.

Everyone loves stone houses and the atmosphere that it brings to a home. This is especially cute, I think.

Isn't this decorative egg exquisite?

Our irrigation canals around here for irrigating our yards aren't this pretty, but they can come close in some areas around houses here for being shady. But I love the flowers and bridge in the background.

A quaint little guest bedroom in the French style.

A rather plain little living room but it's kind of cute with the French feel.

I like the pink in this room but it looks almost like a setting in a furniture store the way it's set up.

This room certainly asserts itself. Fabulous.

I've always loved rooms like this: huge windows, settee, ruffled tablecloth, pretty curtains on a window and a chandelier.

This is absolutely adorable. Black and white with touches of red and pink. I could live in this porch or sunroom easily. Darling!

Just a sweet dining area in a kitchen done extremely well.

This room belongs in a warm climate with its monochromatic color. Very pretty.

A fancy entry way. Two different chairs done in the same fabric to pull them together.

A cozy pink, white and gold sitting room.

What a relaxing room to dream in. French doors to the patio and a chaise lounge to sit and read. Great room!

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Tidbit:

Henry Ford's son received his first Ford when he was 8 years old. He drove himself to the 3rd grade.
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Linking up with Pink Saturday.

Some very important news for Bloggers you'd better read here now!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A few announcements here for those of you who aren't aware:

You'll want to go visit my Pinterest page as I now have over 8,300 photos on there that aren't on here yet. You'll not be soooorrrrry, I promise. ;-)

Then the biggest announcement is from Google: Google Reader will no longer be available starting July 1, 2013. I suppose you won't see it on any sidebar after that. That's a huge announcement for us bloggers who have followings. You'll no longer be able to find us on Google Reader or follow on Google Reader. It's going to be gone. We, in the blogging community, have been searching for other places to find and "store" the names of our favorite blogs. I've selected Bloglovin' and it looks pretty good, nothing like GR but it will do for me as I don't follow hundreds of blogs like some people do. I simply don't have time. You could just "bookmark" them on your browser but that won't tell you if there's an update on a blog; you'd just have to click to each one daily. That's a hassle I know but there's nothing to be done about it. It's very disappointing to us who have blogs as we won't be able to see who follows us but it's also disappointing to those of you who love to read updates on blogs. But with Bloglovin' I think that it will be able to do all Google Reader does: updates each new post, you can see followers if you're a blogger. AND I'd advise you to get busy on it immediately because if you have many blogs to follow, it just might take you a while to transfer them all over to the new application, especially if you're not computer savvy.

But Bloglovin' updates every single time you post and you'll recognize it on your browser, where an "add-on"(a little white cross on a blue background) is put up in the corner. So to join and follow or be followed just click on the button up on the right just above my About Me and it'll take you to Bloglovin' to follow me or to start using it for your own followers. Really quite simple. Here is a screenshot of my browser navigation bar but it's really very tiny. You can see it on the far right hand side with the red line I put on there to mark it for you to see. Very easy. That little cross will have a number in it for each that are updated that day.

I hope this helps you. I've tested many before deciding on this one. Some are, to me, a bit complicated. This one is easy.
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The other day hubs was home and answered the phone. I was in the potty and he brought it in to me sitting there. I told him I didn't talk on the phone while sitting on the toilet! There are some things I'd rather do in peace and quiet and not be bothered. I'm sure some of the teenagers and younger moms and dads do it as it's socially acceptable. It isn't to this woman! I want my privacy some places and the bath is one of them.
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Blog hopping the other day from my granddaughter's facebook page. She has designers and things that she would like for her house on her facebook page. I clicked on a few things but when I went to this one blogger who is a decorator for homes I noticed she had 87,000,000 hits on her page!!! 87 million. Biggest hits on a page I've ever seen. WOW.

Then I found some really popular blogs. Here are the numbers of the most popular blogs' followers. I'd hate to see how many "hits" their pages get.
117,043
147,321
155,818
165,288
172,502
256,793
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I love the color in this stair landing.

And in this living room.

I'd wish for an island like this one but hubs would then insist I cook more. Ain't happening, chicks!

A flower vignette with gorgeous blue bottles and containers.

Red is very "in" in this room. Love it.

Pretty entrance.

A gorgeous English garden and old stone home.

This is another gorgeous living room.

Pretty stone steps with violets.

More roses for ya!

I think this is a stunning photograph of zinnias.

Another gorgeous dining area in a lovely cottage.

And this one also!

A cute idea. Paint some old suitcases found at garage sales and stack them for a bedside table or a living room side table. I have done this before and loved it. Suitcases costs me from 50¢ up to $2.00 at garage sales. Very cheap.

My kind of porch or patio.

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Tidbit:
The Tennessee capitol building's architect is entombed within its northeast wall.

Tidbit:
Our state is #1!
 
K, L and M states

Kansas:
Helium manufacturing
Obsolete bridges still in use

Kentucky:
Horse breeding
Deaths from smoking

Louisiana:
Affordable hospitals
Gonorrhea and syphilis

Maine:
Youngest median age
Per capita rate of asthma

Maryland:
HIgh school students who take college-level courses
Movie bootlegging

Massachusetts:
Adults with college degrees
Government health care spending

Michigan:
Navy bean production
Unemployment

Minnesota:
Per capita rate of preventive colonoscopies
Tornadoes

Mississippi:
Wetland restoration and preservation projects
Obesity

Missouri:
Sport hunting
Meth labs

Montana:
Number of restaurants per capita
Drunk driving
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Linking up with NMH Open House Party.

A Trip To The Supermarkets

I tried to go to Costco by myself yesterday but hubs wanted to tag along. I wasn't happy about it because I'll always spend more when he's along and he always questions me about what I'm buying. Aaaargh.

Well, this was supposed to be a quick in and out. I wanted 2 boxes of Angus burgers already cooked and frozen on hand for our freezer. We got out of there with $131.00! He had to buy a tree. Now, ours is a small yard, just big enough for 2 empty nesters. But he stuck a peach tree in the cart among other things. This is the third peach tree he's planted; the other two died. Annnnnd agaiiiiiin, he had to make sure I didn't kill a woman with the branches from the tree in the cart. I have never, ever hurt or killed a shopper in a grocery store! Promise! We women tend to know how to dodge a peach tree or a full basket of items. He drove me nuts. I had to go shopping at WM also but I went today without him. It was so relaxing and I didn't have him second-guessing me and holding on to the cart so I wouldn't run over anyone. I've mentioned back in posts several times that I'm going shopping alone from now on and I am. OR I'll send him for a few items written on a note paper. I just wouldn't trust him with the bigger shopping but a quick run, okay. We'll see how it works out. Other women in the grocery store mention hubands with them. I think it's a universal feeling of women for the most part. I love shopping alone, taking my time, looking at new things they're carrying, just being leisurely. Has anyone you know gotten a divorce after the hubs retires and stays home all day critiquing the house, toilets, laundry, your shopping and closets? Sigh...

A lovely stone house.

Another living room I love.

A little cute sideboard. It looks miniature but can't tell a lot looking at it from this angle.

A happy day for a picnic in the yard.

Another little  open cottage for playing among the rose garden.

Pretty white chair with pink posies.

Cute little dishes.

Looks like a woman's studio.

And a very pretty window bed with hanging lanterns for a festive area,

Another area in a kitchen with incredibly darling dishes.

A lovely long loggia in a huge home.

A lady's bath with all her soaps and powders.

A quaint street in a small foreign town.

Aaaah, ephemeral pink and lacy candles.

A darling small bath or washroom.

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Tidbit:
More copies of the Ikea catalog are printed each year than the Bible.
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