A Gorgeous Texas Day

It is 85° here today. The sky is blue, the clouds are fluffy and white and birds are singing like crazy. My tea olive is blooming, and smells heavenly. (That's a picture of a tea olive on the left, but it's not mine).

I took Reece out with me to plant impatiens in my front flower bed. He dug in the dirt for a few minutes, but then he got tired of gardening and headed off down the street with me trailing after him.We came inside, but I still need to plant flowers in the backyard as well as in the front.

Mom and I got some flower boxes to hang on her patio railing last week, and now they are planted with impatiens, also. They look so pretty, and she's really enjoying them. Her herbs are doing well, except for the basil, which never came up. The tomato plants we bought are thriving in the little community garden at her complex.

My peace roses are blooming, and they are the prettiest they have ever been. They are usually mostly yellow, with pink edging the petals. This year they have equal amounts of pink and yellow and they're huge! We used a few of them as the centerpiece for the table Easter Sunday.

I made a pot of ham and beans yesterday, using the leftover ham from Sunday. I boil the beans with onion in water and chicken broth, then when they are soft, I add a can of diced tomatoes, the meat (browned hamburger is good in it, too), some garlic, a splash of cooking sherry if I have it (you can also add lemon juice), and plenty of Cajun seasoning. We eat ours over rice, but some homemade bread or cornbread is good with it, too.

God blesses us with such bounty, and days like today make me think of the little prayer we said as kids:

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything!
Amen †