Oh, Wow! Chaz! Love those!

Hugs! Liza! Just think! You will be nice and new for spring...

Keep us posted on how you are doing!!!! I'll try to post some blooming pics later this week.

Take real good care of yourself and do what they say so that you will be gardening again very soon.

Get lots of rest and make sure that you are treated like a Queen!

Hope you'll be back among your Hippies and other flowers soon :)

And get a good nights' rest! :)

Sincerely,

Liltika

Hey Liz, me again, my friend. This is a personal medical question for you. Did your doctors have you take an iron suppliment prior to surgery? I just got all my forms for my 2nd round coming up March 12th. Last surgery they wrote me a script for an expensive iron sup that was like $30+ dollars to begin a month before and take right up to surgery. It got to my stomach and they said STOP after aout 10 days. I was happy to comply! This time they are recommending an OTC sup called 'Slow Fe'. I have been trying to get info off the web, but first hand is always better. It is supposed to be easier on the stomach etc. I have an iron clad stomach, so I am wondering why these upset me. Anyway, probably too much for you to digest with your meds on...LOL I remember reading the front page of the newspaper after surgery. I kept reading it for about an hour and still didn't know what it said! LOL Love those meds!

Be well and happy my dear friend. Looking forward to your progress.

Just last summer's photo of blooming Pride of Barbados, to brighten your day or night.
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These Hippos my friend got me to cuddle while in the hospital last time. Smudgie decided to adopt them! The larger works great. I keep it on my stomach while I sleep so I don't roll over and put pressure on my hips at night.
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Liza, I wish to send these pics to wish you a quick recovery. It's Spring Festival now in Vietnam and there're flowers everwhere.

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Xuan

Lizalily - I'm very glad that you came through surgery, and are on your way to recovering! You've been on my mind for the past few days... and every time I think about you, I say another prayer for your speedy recovery...

I don't have a photo to post now... I'm waiting for a special bloom to open so I can photograph it for you... Charisma decided to bloom once more, though I wasn't expecting it to... the timing is perfect, and by morning it will be open and ready for the camera!

Chaz - Those pansies and nemesia, I think it must be, are extremely wonderful! The shapes and colors together just scream "springtime"! Did you grow those from seed? Do you know the variety names?

Xuan - Lovely flowers! I especially love the sunflowers! So bright and cheery!

Cindee - I love your Pride of Barbados! The colors are so bright and the shape of the buds and blooms together is just so airy looking... and of course, the kitty is a special touch!

Liza, Jodi,
Yes they are violas and nemesia, don't know the variety names I bought a couple of flats of violas by color and a few pots of the nemesia. Heres another gorgeous nemesia, they bloomed through out springtime until summer got too hot for them.
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and some mixed colors
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Hope your feeling better everyday!

Good Morning, Lizalily! I hope you're feeling a little bit better today... this one is especially for you...

Charisma...
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This one is a bit dark, but you can make out the little bit of purple starting to bloom on the hyacinths...
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And the perpetually blooming Lovely Garden cluster...
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As if on cue, and finally, Amputo has decided to grace us with her presence...
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And last, but not least, Amigo is pushing for a huge flowering...
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I hope you enjoyed those, Lizalily! There are plenty more where those came from, so settle in and get ready for a daily blast of wonders from the Jungle and beyond!

Chaz - Those are spectacular! I'm going to have to look into Nemesia seeds... I've never seen them for sale in pots in our area... Pansies are more common, and usually the choices are many... I do grow some from seed, too. The colors you chose are heavenly, and it all makes for an incredible display!

When we were recuperating from our accident a few years ago, we had the most wonderful Physical Therapist! It was very obvious that she loved her job, and in no time we were both feeling a little better and moving a little easier... I hope you have Physical Therapists with the same dedication and love for what they do, Lizalily, in which case, you'll be home and kneeling in your garden in no time!

Have a good day... I'm off to take more photos!

YOU ALL BRING SUCH A SMILE TO MY LIPS THIS MORNING! How I Love the flowers you shared with me, and the lovely greethings! Today I am in love with the color orange mixed with any other color~ And what fun to have pics from all over the world!

I may or may not be going home today. I got a real bath this morning but my OT lady was concerned with how swollen my leg was so she is checking with the dr. PArt of me wants to be home in my own little queendom, and part doesn't
mind being waited on. LOL. IT is just that the island is so far away if I had an emergency.But thank heavens the spasming seems to have stopped in my leg, that was the worst part! NOw it is just a lot of hard work ahead but yes, I do have a lovely friend who will be my rehab lady through it and I would do almost anything to smake her happy with my progress, until such a time as I can see my goals more clearly. THe sky is showing flashes of blue today and that is tantalizing!

Cindee, Can't say that I have had any sickenss from Iron pills...not much appetite but No severe nausea either. I think it would be well worth trying an iron that is supposed to be more gentle on your system...I Mean, Iron is like part of your framework, woman! our scaffolding, right?.

And think I see now why you were a bit hesitant about the 2nd round...it really knocks one down for a while, doesn'
t it! I think it will take me a while to bite the bullet again...need some good memories of summer time and moving freely ...needs to get to the point where i do not think about the new one as new first.

Nemesias have sure come a long ways in the past few years! I tended to ignore them as they were too small and fragile for bouquet work, but for one thing, they are less fragile now, and they sure give a lot of color and charm for the money! Time to just plain enjoy more of my plants! Maybe I will redo the tub on my front porch with those violas and nemesia. THere used to be a solid blue one I really liked, but these sunny ones are special and cheerful! I would like them in my sunny morning coffee spot on the deck!

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Keep smiling :)

Liltika

Liltika
Ooohhh beautiful, what is it?

Liz, I am going ahead because I decided that if I am going to feel bad for awhile, might as well get all the 'feeling bad" over with all together!

Have a wonderful evening, m'dear!

I'm not sure what it is exactly -- it grows on campus near the building my office is in :) It is so lovely to pass by in the spring, I'm still waiting for it to flower again this year. Its just such a cheerful looking plant :)

Liltika, Cindeea,
That looks like buckeye, or horse chestnut!

Liza, the larger raspberry colored nemisia was great for arrangments. It grew to be about 13-15 inches tall. The other colors stayed lower and spread out a bit more.

Glad to hear you're getting up and around. And isn't it amazing how good a bath feels after you've been down for a couple of days?

I haven't had a bath in over two years... we only have a shower! The bathroom is too small to fit a tub, so a shower stall is the best we have for now. A good soak in a bubble bath sounds heavenly! Hot water and bubbles, candles and music, a good book... lock the door and hold all calls!

Besides plenty of south facing windows and a greenhouse, the home we buy must have a nice tub, or I'll be ripping bathrooms apart and making Larry install a nice tub for two!

Lizalily - I'm elated to hear that you're taking steps and thinking about going home, but if you're isolated at home, it might be wise to stay one more day at the hospital where help is only a buzzer away... I'm just happy that you're in good spirits and moving around already! :-)

Jodi, I do have just such a tub at home! And for the last several year I Have had to omuch arthritis to get up and down in it. I THink I will not use it until the leg can carry my wieght getting in and out but then it will be lovely to use it again. IN the meantime I have my best friends hot tub to use when I need, so that sounds lovely to me once the stitches are out and healed. Now that is much easier to get into and out of!

Jodi, I Am still waiting for the Dr to come by the clinic, but am packed and dressed and ready to go. I will leave the decision with the Dr.

Oh Jodi you poor thing! I would die without a tub. As a matter of fact when we built the house we all had upgrades wish lists. I of course picked only one thing...a jetted bath tub. The guys each put at the top of their lists "jet tub for Cindee" I cried!!! I had such a hard time dealing with sponge baths and showers after surgery. I couldn't wait to get back to my bubbling tub! The jets are so therapeutic and so relaxing. I love bath salts and a magazine, a cool drink and it's my 'get away' time!

Oh my ladies...I just want a large walk in shower! I'm so sick of cleaning tubs!!!!! LOL

A tub, in my humble opinion, should be heated and bubbling with power jets, and outside!!! or in my dream greenhouse with a pool, pond, 30foot roof...

Liza, once ya heal up have the family lower into the tub!!! They'll be more than willing to wait on ya for a bit I think!

Liltika,
That is actually THE Chestnut, the edible. You can collect the chestnut from under it in the Fall. It is a pretty spikey pod though. Take thick soled shoes and stamp them out.

My brother and his wife have a wonderful hot tub on a small deck over looking their pool, and every Thursday night was "hot tub night" while I was staying with my Mom prior to her passing... my brother lived in the same neighborhood. We'd put on our bathing suits, fill large insulated cups with Bacardi Limon and Pepsi, crank up the stereo that was piped out to the deck, and climb in for a nice soak under the stars... it was November, and the air was a bit chilly... we'd catch a nice little buzz while playing "guess the band and album name" for every song on the radio! We had lots of fun!

While a hot tub outdoors by a pool would be very nice, I think I'd prefer an indoor tub with jets for soaking in... maybe a nice corner tub with a candle chandelier overhead... a nice tiled step piled with big fluffy towels and more candles, some potpourri, gardening magazines, some nice green plants... I can picture it so clearly! Someday... (sigh)

Funny how the room of importance changes with age... if I were younger, I'd want a nice kitchen before a nice bathroom! But now that I'm getting older, and have health issues, I'd prefer a really nice bathroom with plenty of room, a nice tub for relaxing...

Lizalily - you're lucky to have access to a nice hot tub, and even luckier to have a nice tub of your own! You'll be getting in and out of it in no time!

Chaz, you are funny. Dennis got his BIG shower also, I am afraid to use it cause I get lost in there! My dream is an outside shower!

Liz, dear, here's todays photos for you.
Dendrobium Sanpran Brown
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and Blooming Wild Mustang and NOID AVs
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Jodie, I think we would not neet half the medications for pain if the medical diagnosis of a form of arthritis would just pay for the hot tub! I should love to have mine out in an asian style pagoda like I saw at the garden show! My girl friend says that it would need something to keep the spiders and other bugs out of the water though, so better to go with the pavillion with plexiglas and screen windows. I would love to be outside but in the warm water in a screened room year round......Set down in the midst of my orchard...what a lovely dream! Now lets see, could we put nice window ledges all around the room for ammies sitting on heating cable during our mild grey winters?

Chaz, I do not think I should risk the strain on DH for lowering me into the tub, LOL. He has pretty strong arthritis also, and I can't put him out of commission! WHat an amusing picture it makes in my mind, though! I would need to work on my Cleopatra type charms!

Cindee dear! WHat lovely orchards! And AF's are pretty too. I used to have a lot of them but found I neglected them so bad during the summer when scented flowers were blooming that they never recovered in the winter.I would enjoy some big frilly ones now though...maybe I can send some of my kids out on a quest when they come to visit me. I do not send my husband on Horticultural quests, LOL. To him they are all just "Your bushes". He is going to have to learn though as my long quest for Red "Firefighter" roses has led two of them to my door yesterday, and I think it might just be easier to give him a book with directions on planting roses then listen to his anxieties! Not every husband that would go out and plant Roses in Feb for a girl, even if he does make it as painful to me as to himself! He is a Boeing Engineer and I Never leave the ground and he never comes down to earth...Earth and Air only mix on the surface layers, LOL. Still and all, we have been married for nearly 40 years but sometimes I wonder how!

Cindee. what is "Pride of Barbadoes"? I SO love the fiery colors..they look like pure sunshine and ripeness! And There was a picture from Vietamese new year...mixed bouganvillieas! SO Pretty! I struggle with one purple one just to keep it alive in my greenhouse though winter. I did manage to bring it back from the edge of death this winter, but Sure would love clouds of bloom like the photo you send! Happy NEW YEAR TO ALL MY ASIAN FRIENDS! MY TAIWANESE SON looked up at the calender yesterday and hit himself in the head with "OH my gosh! I Forgot! LAst year he spent it in PEnnsylvania with cousins but this year they had moved and were not ready for guests yet. HE will get to Taiwan on the 16th so his cousin Amy at least will still have time off to spend with him.

Cindeea, when I lived in Saudi Arabia I had a plant outside the villa (company housing, not mine!) that looked like your Pride of Barbados, they called it bird of paradise bush, reminds me very much of a mini royal poincianna, any relation???
Also had a date palm there that I picked dates off and had with breakfast! Would have loved to had this gang there discussing plants, eating fresh dates, and drinking coffee laced with cardamom and ginger...Of course the 124 degree heat was a bit much, LOL

Liza, Pride of Barbadosz is also called "Dwarf Poinciana". (Caesalpinia Pulcherrima). It looks like a thousand dancing butterflies when it blooms. There is also an All pink and an All yellow variety. I have tons of seeds if you think you'd like to try growing. You will have to greenhouse in cold months. Even in Florida, mine goes somewhat dormant in the winter months. It is now loaded with seeds that will just get tossed. They are a bit slow to germinate but do best if seeds are nicked and soaked for 24 hours. They will regrow in southern climes if frozen to the ground. I have a tiny pink one I started from seed last year that I just put in the ground. Their leaves are bipinnate and feathery looking that close up in the evening.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caesalpinia

Cindee! it says that the caelalpinia is frost tolerant down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit! And and zone 8 b which is my zone! I would love to try to start some seed! It may not do anything with our cooler summers but it would be fun to try!
Zonal denial is a frequent Seattle disease!

LOL Liza, you don't have to tell me about Zonal denial!! I've been growing Concord grapes (rec. Zone 8B CA)for 5 years and getting fruit!! Concords I found out (as I grew to be an older wiser gardener) are subject to Pierce disease in Florida. I am in HUMID zone 10 nothing near Dry CA zone 8B! lol

Perhaps if you put the seeds in a planter near a side of your house that gets lots of direct sun beating on it, they will bloom. When the bloom this year, I will also try to cut a branch for a vase to see if they will last at all in cut arrangements. They would be totally cool in a mixed arangement. Email me your address (see my member page for the address to copy and paste) I have some other goodies to share with you too!

Liza, if DH can't do it. That's what the kids are for!!! LOL
I've got these coming into bud right now, this photo is from last year. I also have my Zombie putting up stalks, I'll get a photo later. Taking study breaks, but not enough time to actually photo, hence last years flowers.

epiphyllium fushia kiss got this one in 1992 @ the New York Flower Show. On my monitor the color is true.
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Good Morning, Lizalily! And, how are we feeling today?! Better, I hope! Every day, a little better... baby steps, take baby steps! Rome wasn't built in a day, you know! :-)

With our winters being so cold, there's no room for zonal denial! It either survives, or it doesn't... there's no middle ground! I'm forced to grow some things as annuals, but as long as I start them early enough, and there's enough growing time for them to flower before it gets too cold again, I'm happy. Cup and Saucer Vine, for instance, must be started very early, but it's completely worth the effort once all the beautiful blooms begin to open! Several of my garden favorites reseed quite freely, and are able to grow and flower each summer, producing new seed for the following year!

As always, Cindee, your orchids are fabulous! My jungle has been languishing the past couple of days... doing nothing... and so, I have no new photos to post today... so I thought I'd dig through my archives and see what photos might be appropriate...

One last look at Jungle Star...
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This is what the Jungle looked like last summer... not much going on, not many plants at all!
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Last season's Cup & Saucer Vine...
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Almost overnight the Jungle expanded!
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And so it began... from 2 little bulbs, to well over 45 now... and counting... the Jungle has grown to include orchids and several other plants of interest... and it continues to grow and change...

I believe the next bulb to bloom will be Rilona... followed by Amigo... photos to come!

Have a lovely day, Lizalily! Don't overdo it!

Happy Gardening, Everyone!

Happy Saturday Liza. How are you doing today?? Glad to be home?

Jodi, your pics are beautiful. That goofy orchid is a huge bare plant, except for it's flowers. It was given to me at the last FL GW Swap I went to. It is so gangly and has no leaves. It's putting all it's energy into making beautiful flowers!

Hey Chaz-I love that Epiphy! I have a peachy yellow and a red and then also the night blooming cereus. They are beautiful fragrant flowers. The color of yous is smashing!

Hey Lizalily! How're you doing today?! Even better, I hope! Even though knees seem to heal faster than hips, the rehab does take a while... knees carry a lot of our weight! But if I know you at all from everything you've written, I know you'll rehab fairly fast, like the trooper you are! You'll work diligently at it, knowing that spring is just around the corner and you really want to get out in the garden! If I had gardens like yours, that's where I'd want to be!

For your viewing pleasure today, we have an assortment of odds and ends...

First... can't you almost smell the perfume from the little purple beauty trying so hard to bloom?!
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Next, we have a view of the growth going on in the north window...
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Amputo is really starting to awaken and grow... now, if it would only bloom...
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The Limona x self seedlings are all snug in their little take-out tray... and, boy, are they growing!
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And last, but certainly not least, is my little Epi Radicans, complete with a baby on her side, and new growth from her top! I love this orchid!
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I hope you enjoyed the latest in Jungle Photography! I don't know what I'm going to photograph tomorrow... I've shown everything I have in bloom already... hmmm... well, we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Feel better... take it slow and easy... and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while!

Happy Gardening to All!

Good mornig, or woops, afternoon, my friends. I Can finally say that I Am over the last major road bump at least as far down the road as I Can see. THe past few days I was going through withdrawal to the sleep medicine I HAve been on for Fibromyalgia, and was told not tot ake this until all the oxycodone was out of my system and the Dr told me to restart.

NOt quite enough addvice nor the realization that I was going into major WIthdrawal symptoms from my prescription medication! Fortunately when I Called the "On Call" Dr at the hospital last night he figured out that I was in full blown a withdrawal, and told me to take my regular dose emmediately! SO today, while still weak and shakey I am starting to feel perky again...youknow how the wilted amie does after you water it?.

UNfortuntely, that happened while I was down and out to something really gorgoeus. I have to look it up this afternoon but my best guess is that it is my "LA PAz" cybister from last year. It has one more scape spreading its fingers into a star this morning and I have it upclose and personal on my chair-side table. The first flower had the most scrumtious long curved stigma and anthers! They were much longer then the petals.

I also have a Jewel, a Red Pearl just finishing, and 2 Liberties just opening. THey will be new ones for me and I should be able to send pics in a day or 2.

I am hoping by this afternoon I Might make it out to peep into my work room. THe walking is not painful, and If DH walks with me and my walker I think I can do it. I Have to check on my children!

Gosh but it was good to sleep last night and feel alert today!

For you Liza...Good old ammies in bloom now.
Take it easy and hope you feel a lot better soon!

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Maria, what is the flower in the lower left corner? Those are so pretty together!

I did get out to my growing room and found some double records squashed up against the grow tubes and rescued a few buds that needed more headspace. I brought in DOuble Record, and Jewel to enjoy inside. THey are so pretty in a maroon vase!

******************YAY********************

Liza it is so good to see you up and around!! Take your time girl, you will be fab by the the time spring blossoms are shooting up. I HATE MEDs...nuff said...they become a see-saw of blurr!

Be well and happy my dear. I picked a bunch of Pride of Barbados seed pods for you and some for Chaz today before I cut back my shrub/tree. Do you want Plumeria? It can happen, ya know! Love ya babe!!!!

That's Blossom Peacock Liza...one of my favorites.

My newly planted bulbs goes through 3 rooms during winter. After planting, they go downstairs (60s temp) as I have shown in "New Year" thread. Once the scapes are about a foot tall, they go upstairs in my bedroom (70s) to receive more sunlight from the patio door. When the blooms open, they move to the guest bedroom (60s..I cover the heat vent). There their flowers last longer, pics taken and pollination done...awwaaaaaayyy from the kids. LOL!!! Once all flowers are pollinated they go back to the bedroom for seedpod production.

Sighhhh...I wish I lived in FL. Hopefully Cindee's neighbor. :-)

Dear Lizalily, I know just how you felt! There have been times where we couldn't get my medication in time, and even one day without is enough to make me feel beyond horrible! According to the American Pain Foundation, those of us with chronic pain are not addicted, we're dependent... like a diabetic is dependent on insulin. It's a poor stigma to have to live with, but as a patient, I reserve the right to be pain-free!

I'm beyond happy to hear that you are beginning to get around, and can make it to your work room to bring in a few beauties to enjoy indoors! I do hope you can post photos of Jewel and Liberty... I don't believe I've seen a Liberty yet, and Jewel is just so pretty! I adored my Red Pearl... the petals were dark red and velvety looking! La Paz is a winner, too!

Take it easy and rest, my dear... and enjoy those blooms! Good sleep is very healing. You'll be in the garden before you know it, the dirt right back under your fingernails, where it belongs for us gardeners!

Maria - That's a great group shot! Most colors and shapes are represented, and they all look fabulous together, posing for their portrait! Blossom Peacock is really getting under my skin, and I might have to get one or two next fall!

Hey Maria, darlin' there's a couple of homes for sale on our street right now! Sorry, the one next door just sold, but there is a large home behind us!! You could walk over for morning coffee and a dip in the pool!! We could talk plants all day and make the guys cook us supper 'cause we were just too darn busy!

That would be great Cindee! You do the snipping, I'll do the digging!

Liza,

These wonderful blooms certainly bring sunshine in.

Cindee if Maria moves next to you, would you mind if I stopped by - I'll bring pastries to go with the coffee!

Bring it on Jody!! LOL we'd probably just all gab the day away and do nothing else!! How fun does that sound!

Hey ladies, I want a part of that lifestyle!!! Maybe I'll winter down in sunny FL if y'all are moving there!

I'll buy a house within a block or two, and we'll all gather at Cindee's for coffee and pastry... we'll gab about plants and gardening, take a dip in the pool if it's really hot, and order a quick pizza to feed the guys because we've been too busy gabbing about flowers all day to cook a meal!

We can all take turns playing coffee klatch hostess, help each other with garden projects, day-trip to botanical gardens and greenhouses, and exchange recipes for quick one-pot meals to feed the guys because we're ALWAYS too busy talking plants to cook a real meal!

Wouldn't that be fun?!

It's a nice dream, but doubtful that Larry could ever be dragged that far south... unless... I could try to convince the kids that they all need to move to Florida!

Jodi, sounds like the perfect life to me!!

Chaz, c'mon down. After all, we are going to need someone to mix all the cocktails that we girls will need while floating around the pool!!

LOL, uh, we'll have to get someone else for that Cindee...I'll be floating right there with y'all!! Chase makes a pretty good margarita, or long island iced tea...

OK The heck with you Chaz, what's Chase's number..........

Now I think I should check out this Florida thing! I'll be down for 2 weeks in December, OK? Well, anytime between November and February when it works for all the rest of you! Of course I Might have to bring some of my amis with me to keep an eye on them.....oh problems, problems!

YAY, everyone come to Florida!

I wish! Especially after the frigid winter we've been having... getting some Florida sunshine to soak into my bones would be so heavenly!

I'm not real big on Long Island Ice Tea, but I do like a good Margarita! Can Chase make a Cosmopolitan? Or better yet, how about a Golden Cadillac? If so, the job is his! LOL!

He made a wicked white cranberry peach cosmo a while back. Took a couple of days to recover! LOL, not kids anymore. I'll have to look up a Golden Cadillac, he'll be making them before we all arrive at Cindees for a pool party!

Cocktails...I want "Sex on the Beach"!