Tough Love: Petunias

I've never been a big fan of petunias, but before graduation we needed some color.  Since spring had been so cold and dreary here, the nurseries were sparse and I hadn't been able to get my own pots of flowers going.

I found these wave petunias at Walmart for a great price. So pink petunias it was.  (I rarely buy pink flowers or petunias!)

I knew it wouldn't be long until they were ratty looking which is why I don't like petunias.  

Time for some tough love.

I watched this You Tube video, then this one, and got aggressive.

I have never been sure how to dead head a petunia. Do you just pull out the spent bloom? Or, do you  need to pinch off the whole stem it came out of?  Now, I know.  It must all come out.  I have never cared for them properly.  Mine were so far gone though that I had to aggressively prune.

I also learned on the video that the are aggressive feeders so I will try to fertilize these often.  They were so perfectly in bloom when I bought them,  I assume they've used up the fertilizer they started with.

One little bloom showing what was...Now, hopefully, in a couple of weeks I can show you pictures of rejuvenated plants.

I'm still not sure that I will dedicate the time to proper dead heading.

Any thoughts, wisdom, or experiences with petunias you'd care to share?  I'm always looking for tips and hints!

No to Sour Cream on Pie!

 The other day, I started chopping up some rhubarb my husband brought home from the farm.  

My little girls were sitting near reading as we had just come home from the library.

After awhile they noticed what I was doing.

And, they asked, "What is that?"  "It's rhubarb."


"Is it grown?" "Yes, it's grown, Dad brought it home from the farm."

  "Is it a fruit or a vegetable?"  "Hmmm....not sure.  I'll have to google."  Thank goodness, it's not "back in the day" and I'd have to actually go back to the library to find out!

Whether fruit or vegetable, it is enjoyable to chop, it's so pretty.

I'm not including the recipe because I think it could use some tweaking.  The first stage included cooking the rhubarb, sugar, and cornstarch until thick.  I wasn't sure about this step and almost burned it. 

Then you bake it and add a layer of cream cheese, sugar, and eggs, and bake again.

Should have stopped here.

But, it called for a layer of sour cream to be spread over the cooled pie.  A whole cup, of which I did not use.  I probably put one half cup on and that was too much!  

Scrape off the sour cream, serve with ice cream, and you've got a good dessert.  

My better judgement thought, NO to the sour cream, but then I thought, maybe?!  

Well, now I know.

So, do you know?  Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

A vegetable, but was ruled by a NY court in 1947 to be classified as a fruit because it is used as a fruit and thus lowered the tariffs on it.  

Well, now I know that too. 

I'll have to check and see if the girls still care. :)

Riding Out the Storm

Okay, here the storm wasn't so much of a storm, thank the good Lord!  But, there were sirens and we did go to the basement.

You know, I have quite a few "rejection" stories of items that have proven to be helpful or good to keep.

Last night in the basement, I pulled from my stash of items to sell a game for us to play to occupy the minds of those who may be a bit worried about bad weather.  This game had not sold due to it's lack of neat game pieces.  

But, after all these years and an open box, all of the pieces were there.

And, it has a spinner that spins well!  The girls were all ready to camp in the basement all night with blankets and stuffed animals at the ready.  It didn't come to that, and although they were disappointed to not sleep down there, they were happy the danger passed!

"Caboose" It was easy to learn, easy to play, and a good distraction.  Once again, rejection isn't always a bad thing. :)

Texture Tuesday: Praying for Kim

I thought I'd link up to Texture Tuesday today.  But, when I checked Kim's blog to confirm what the challenge for this week was, I read her most recent post.

Kim's husband has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.  You can read about it here.

I decided to post a Texture Tuesday picture in Kim's honor and ask for prayers for her and her husband.

Kim has been such a blessing to so many, inspiring us and encouraging us to create.

Maybe you would like to join me in praying for healing for her husband and for a place of peace and rest for Kim.

Our prayers matter.