Congradulations MUDMOM!!!!
Hail to the Queen!!!!!
Hope you have a wonderful month of Queendom!!!!!
Treesa207

Ok I was just thinking that this would be my last posting as Queen but today is the first of May so I am no longer queen, it does sadden me soooo. Mud Mom you are in for a real treat; these girls are wonderful. I have truely enjoyed everything I have gotten. This has been a wonderful month, I do look forward to sending everyone there gifts as the qeenism continues. I will be sending in a picture of my self in the crown, when I get a chance! Mudmom I will be sending it to you very soon, please wear it with love and pride as I have, at first you will feel like the neighbors think you are weird but they to will get used to it, mine did. Ok I have a few listings of gifts to post;
1. My gifts from Leann2800 were wonderful, a pink desk calander/appointment book, pink garden gloves, butterfly hankies, pink bath beads, purple butterfly windchime, lots of wonderful cuttings (I can't beleive you sent me so many) purple heart wondering jew, tahitian bridal veil, purple varigated wondering jew, Seeds; fuscia asters, yucca, pink seashell cosmos babys breath, pink white striped 4 o clocks. thank you Leann, I didn't have any of the cuttings that you sent me, everything you sent to me was wonderful and PINK, I love it.
2.Number 1 angel; pink tablet w/ beads, pink gloves with pretty white flowers on them, pink watering can with a rose on it, mini shepherds hook w/ sign on it, wonderful rose smelling candle, pink and white pinwheel that hangs on the window, a large pink pinwheel (that my daughter is begging me for), pumpkin seeds, pink cosmo seeds, pink swan river daisy seeds. Thank you so much for everything Jeanette.
3. Annieup, Dahlia bulb (purple), pink victorian soap that smells wonderful, cute pink elephant picture frame, pink potporri (smells great), garden rock with roses and a butterfly on it, pink windchime, thermometer w/ pink roses and a frog on it, a absolutely beautiful pink coffee mug, pink lady bug plant stake, 2 large tin planters with pink roses on them, pink bath beads, 3 pink heart candels, 2 pink votive cups, set of 3 planters with pansies on them, Seeds; lavender seeds, larkspur, cosmos, alyssum, echinacea, morning glory, pumpkin, balsam sweet william. Neoma- thank you so much for everything, I know you do love yellow now but I think it is time for you to change over to pink, didn't you have fun buying all of that puink stuff!!! I will miss being queen but I do hope mud mom has as much fun as I have had, I do want to thank all of you for my gifts I have loved everything, I will miss running home to check my mail everyday!!!!! Hail to Queen MUDMOM!!!!
Thanks again everyone, Heather
Oh one more thing Thank you ladies for remembering that I love pink!!!!!

Heather--I hope you noticed that all your goodies from me were in a pink basket!!!I sure hope it didn't get thrown out with the box!!!
I had fun 'shopping' for you
Jeanette

Happy May!!!!!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I did receive an email from the Queen herself. She is very busy with the children these days and is having a hard time being able to have her turn on the computer, she said the kids are using it alot trying to get all their lessons done since the end of the school year is almost here.
She will be back soon I am sure.
So everyone just go ahead and shop for her and buy her something pretty, she still hasn't sent me her bio but I feel she will in the next few days.
I might be wrong but I think she has 9 children, so if you could just imagine day to day with all of them. I'm sure she is busy with all that.
I can't even think of what it would be like if I had 9 kids or even 8 kids, they would probably have me tied up in the closet or something.
I truly admire any one who is able to handle all that!
So with that said, everybody go shop and try to plant something today. Treesa207

I've been a very good girl and stayed away from any forum that would keep me up reading and posting. That meant that all posts on this forum were offlimits to me for awhile. I, uh, tend to be long winded in my posting just 'cuz there is so much that I want to say.

I've also been a very naughty girl because I promised Treesa that I'd write a bio, but wound up going out of town again & just knew that it would take me hours to write. Then I was just too tired at night when I had computer time to write it out. Now I'm trying to type one-handed while holding the baby on my lap.

Queen Mother, I would still like to get together with you and your heiress. Please let me know if you can find any openings that might fit the schedules of the three of us. If no such time seems likely in the near future, the local post office finally got in a supply of the type of boxes they've been promising me. It might take a bit of trimming, but I think that I can make one of those work for the item I wrote to you about. Treesa had it nearly right. I have 8 kids. One is 33yo and lives across the country, though. Attempting to fill her place, I have my 5mo old grandson & my son-in-law. In a way, I DO have 9 kids here. The others are my 22yo dd, 17ds, 16ds, 15dd, 13ds, 11dd, and 9dd. We homeschool those last 6. My dd is working on her Masters. They started doing co-op classes in Feb, which involve heavy homework, and they love the classes. But you'd have to know my kiddos to know what sticklers they are about doing assignments thoroughly. We don't have an operating printer and I have to beg for computer time for myself now. That is, unless I wait until late night. Only 2 more weeks of co-op and I'll be Happy Dancing. My kiddos are also into preforming arts. We've just completed the runs of 2 plays the older boys were in. All except the youngest are dancers. Gardening has become both my escape and something I do with them. The 5 youngest (9-15 year olds) each have at least one garden of their own. That doesn't mean that most of them do the work on their own, though. I truly admire anyone who is able to handle all of that, too! Lately I feel like I'm JUGGLING all of that & there is no time left for me. That's not a complaint. It's just what happens when it all depends on Mom to keep everyone else's gears running. My 16yo ds has a gf who is here everyday until her curfew & now she's taken to bringing her friends w/her, too. She's managed to bring 3 failing grades up to acceptable levels just so that she can travel cross-country w/us the end of June. Moral - teens can do the impossible when the stakes are high enough.

My husband works over 600 miles away & hasn't been able to get home recently because he's been ill. Not major illness, just too ill to make that drive for a few days at home.

My member page is horribly out-of-date. There is no hope that I will be able to update it soon.

My own tastes range from sophisticated to the wild, wacky, unexpected. I love the whole range of colors from brights to pastels to subdued to black and white. They all have their place. I love the delicate and the bold. I love variance in texture and structure. I love a variety of garden scents.

I crave tropicals, especially edible bananas, gingers, heliconia, crinum, passiflora (especially edulis), more mandevillas (only have white). Would hand over my crown for an ice cream banana, plumeria, or ylang ylang.

Love lilies and amarylis.

Can't have enough blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, Southern high bush blueberries, cranberries, or any other berry you can think of. Wishing for more figs than my brown turkey. Female kiwi (not the hardy kiwi) is a wish.

Hosta are wonderful. Anything that looks good in the shade & can take steamheat summers is wonderful.

Succulents have a place calling their name. (Have overabundance of century plants and aloe.)

Roses, named, heirloom, & unnamed
Irises, same
Dahlias, same
Daylilies, same
ferns
Horseradish
shrubs
ground cover
edibles
vines
grasses
sugar canes
bamboos
hummingbird and butterfly attractors
used gardening magazines
used gardening books
Anything w/any of the following names: Diana, Candida, Jacqueline, Edward, Alexander, Cynthia, John, Nicholas, Hope, Julia, Guinevere, Isaac, Michelle, Renee, Mary, Fredrick, Thomas, Xavier, Joseph, Kathryn - It's all first and middle family names.

Always need packing tape, aluminum tape, superfine black Sharpies, grease pencil, wire for tags and markers, hand trowels the kids haven't bent or lost, gloves, a kneeling pad, garden shoes, plant markers, and anything chocolate, or a few extra hours of sleep.

I've been getting quite a collection of herbs, mints, and scented geraniums and love them. Even if it's something we already have, there is always room to fill.

I haven't been able to grow a regular bleeding heart from seed or purchased root. But have had no difficulty grow the white ones.

Just about anything that anyone could possibly send has someone here who will put it to use and love it. New items are exciting. Old standbys bring back memories. If it's beautiful, "scent"sational, architecturally appealing, edible, or functional - if YOU love it, we will, too.

Those things are listed just because people might not know about our interest in them. Just because something isn't listed, doesn't mean we aren't thrilled. LOL There are so many things that we haven't discovered that everything is wonderful. We've only really been trying to garden for less than a year. There's nothing we have too much of except for poison ivy, tanglefoot, fireants, cedar and gum maple seedlings, and clay. We just switched from a riding mower to an old-fashioned rotary pushmower and machete to cut about an acre of "lawn". We hang clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer. We use fans and screens instead of A/C, except in the bedrooms & don't run heat in the main part of the house. We intend to create rainbarrels & wish it was affordable to install solar panels. Kids ride bikes 4 miles to work mostly along 5 lane hwys. We compost, recycle, and raid recycling bins for things that we can use. (Not allowed to raid the metal bin, though.)I hand sheer our hundreds of shrubs when I have time. We love hand-me-downs and handmade items more than shopping. I grind (but don't grow) the wheat to make our bread. I pool all the trips where I can make a series of stops into one. On the flip side, we have an inground pool and I drive a 15 passenger van. I don't use charge cards because I don't like interest and refuse to pay anyone for the privilege of allowing them to make money off the people who sell to me.

I had an almost TOO successful year wintersowing, but didn't even get to the annuals. Getting all of that into the ground is one of the things demanding my time right now.

I've done almost every craft around, but haven't had time in several years. Still, I keep buying supplies for things I hope to do. My size is very small - maybe 5'1", under 100 lbs. Shoes size 6-6 1/2. Hair long brown w/some gray ones popping out to remind me that I'm not really the 29 I tell the kids I am. (Remember the oldest is 33.) I'm a non-conformist living in a Southern town raising a large batch of non-conformists.

When I've got it together, I've got it together. When one thing sets me behind, it all seems to snowball. (That reminds me. I love hydrangeas, too.)

Donating time to help an elderly or disabled neighbor get gardens into shape, or bringing them bouquets is a perfect gift to me in lieu of mailing. Or you could plant a garden for Habitat for Humanity, or anything along that order. I'm old enough to have only wants & not needs. If you bring some sunshine to others, that would be a grand gift to me.

This month you have the oddest queen of the year. Haha to that Camilla person! Diana has the throne! The heirs to the throne have already been designated and Charles is not in line.

Once again I've come on here and typed well beyond when I should have been sleeping. I'm sure I didn't say it all, but that should give you enough of a bio to have some ideas.

The future Queen Cassie is an amazingly quick shipper. I opened a box today that smelled - HEAVENLY. A bouquet of dried lavender inside a potpourri container had scented the entire box. That was wonderfully appropriate! I had wintersown lavender and was pampering my jug filled with true lavender babies. One morning, as I reviewed my green subjects, I noticed that my lavender jug was entirely barren - except for one very fat caterpillar! It was quite upsetting to learn that one caterpillar could devour every speck of green in one night. Now, I still have the scent of lavender to enjoy whenever I wish. Thank you, Cassie! There was also a box of Ferra Roche! Oh! I discovered those last Christmas season. They are soooooo yummy. What a nice treat to look forward to munching anytime I have to post late at night! Nestled inside the box was a GODIVA bag. Oh, my stars and garters! It's been over 20 years since I've had anything Godiva! The bag contains what appears to be a chocolate covered macaroon. Mmmmm! Godiva, chocolate, and macaroons. I love macaroons! That is going to be saved for a special time alone. Goodies always seem at their best to me when I savor them in solitude.

There were seeds for German Chamomile (I'm thinking homemade tea, here, flat leaf parsley (the butterflies and I both thank you), Purple Ruffles Basil, and Cinnamon basil. Cassie knows that cinnamon basil is probably my all time favorite basil. Why couldn't basil be a perennial? I now have the following types of basil or seeds: lemon, lime, Italian Sweet, Purple Ruffles, and Cinnamon. I learned something reading the back of the Cinnamon basil packet. The word "basil" comes from the Greek word for King. I think all queens should have some basil!

On one en of the box was a very heavy cylinder. Queens don't know everything; I thought it was a container of those little rocks used in fish tanks in a lavender shade. The only part that I guessed correctly was that they DO go in water. Thank you for the lovely bath soak. That will be just the ticket after an evening of working the garden beds, especially once we start our annual May heatwave here.

Thank you very much, Cassie. You made this a wonderful day.

This queen doesn't even have to become accustomed to speaking to herself. Seems like she does it all the time at home.

Thank you so much, Deni! (Abitodd) Your wonderful package of plants arrived today. The sedum, campanula. and trillium have already been planted out. The bush asters, blue phlox, Princess Di canna, and the tall purple flowers are getting a good root soaking to perk them back up after their journey. What is the tall purple flowering plant? There is so much which this young queen still needs to learn in life, and the name of that flower is one of those things.

The windsock is adorable. So is the "Free weeds" sign. I hope more than a few people take up that offer.

Thank you, Cassie and Deni, for a lovely week. You've made it clear that being Queen is a very busy job. Between the duties of watching for postal workers, ripping open packages, and planting out there isn't much time left for anything else except for eating chocolate and cookies while posting.

May is such a beautiful month!

Hail to Mud Mom, reigning Queen of the keyboard! Diana, you don't often get to appear, but when you do, you really pack a punch! Thanks for all the wonderful, insightful information. I am insanely jealous of your shoe size.

Have a great rule!

The queen's "king" is home for the weekend. She was happy that no packages arrived today because there is a colorguard currently lining the driveway and filling the blacktop. The colorguard wears green uniforms and is patiently waiting to have each member permanently stationed in brown soil. She is not certain the king would understand why new members were arriving while so many recruits were awaiting stations.

The queen's duties of the day involved the following: serving refreshments (water) to all thirsty colorguards, twice. Planting out a line of wine colored celosia (cockscomb) which was a result of wintersowing. Will await the crests to appear. The queen is proud to announce the two, 2, TWO wintersown poppies are forming buds. She has never successfully grown poppies, but Spring has cooperated this year by actually showing up instead of progressing straight to summer. She cut the grass in the children's play area and around the fruit trees - grass shears in hand, she lopped off the heads and bodies of any towering grasses while slaying lions (dandelions) in the same manner. Today brought sun and calm, and the opportunity for the fearless queen to tackle her search and destroy mission on the rampant poison ivy while armed with nothing more than a sprayer filled w/glyphosate. She spent the waning hours of daylight rounding up her scattered flats of herbs and arranging them by type in order to at least mentally plan her herb garden. She was pleased to realize that she has over one dozen flats of herbs. She collected the day's chamomile flowers to set aside to save for future tea. She spent considerable time admiring the borage flowers and now must do some research on exacly how one uses certain herbs such as borage, licorice, and boneset, as well as to learn which herbs must have their flowers removed in order to survive. She collected plums fallen from the excessive wind & inspected the trees with relief that there were still many plums growing fat. She smelled roses. The queen was also amazed at the speed in which dahlias push out foliage and grow.

The king had promised to do yard work, but decided that it has been too long since he has done physical labor. The king spent the day going to the grocers followed by ritual flames in the grill. The queen was well pleased with those efforts, though she would still like to get a shovel into his hands. Perhaps for Mothers Day he will dig a cranberry bed or herb garden.

The queen had a delightful day because she spent it out-of-doors.

Mudmom,

I thought I labled all the plants...hmmm I did not keep a list of what I sent. Can you tell me what all was in the box and I will know what else it should be. Or describe the plant and I may be able to tell you...lol Sorry, I think the day I decided to send the box I got pushed for time and did not make a list.

Deni

Deni, that's just what happens to me with getting in a hurry to make the p.o. in time. I always think that I'll remember, but the replay button just doesn't work for my memory. Everything was labeled except for the one item. It was the tallest and was flowering in a blue/purple color with tiny flowers on the upper stalk. The others that I remember (and I DID make a list, but can't find it) were: sedum, campanula. and trillium, bush asters, blue phlox, Princess Di canna. BTW, I'm ready to photocopy that "Free weeds" sign and stick about 50 of them around the yard. One dd thinks we should collect the seeds from the pretty ones and send them to people. The queen did not think that was a good idea.

The queen is lonely because her subjects all seem to be too busy to engage in idle chitchat. She has been devouring her chocolates. Not to fear, though. Her ds13 presented Her Majesty w/a 3lb. bag of M&M's for Mother's Day. He deemed the bag large enough to share. :-) Another favored gift of the day was a travel style mug from dd9. The queen no longer need protect her cup of tea from eager kitties while playing in the mud. The children baked a cake to be shared w/my dd who had her First Mother's Day. I've never had to share my cake before. It was nice. The day ended with having my 17ds present the Queen with 76, yes, 76 long stemmed roses. She promptly realized that they still had large thorns attached. Good thing she is not related to Sleeping Beauty. She spent much of today trimming ends, wrapping, and presenting roses to everyone she met. Dear Son had made arrangements to receive the "leftovers" from someplace at the end of Mother's Day. He is quite the frugal shopper.

The King did yardwork on Sunday, much to the appreciation of his Queen. He cut the downed pine limbs into sizes which She would be able to fit into the van to take to the transfer center. She spent the time denuding them of pine needles with which to mulch some beds. Queen Mud..Mom conquered Roma in the cool of the evening - She planted out her wintersown Roma tomatoes as well as zuchini, which was in honor of the King who very much enjoys zuchini.

This evening the queen went shopping - ALONE. She purchased 2 items for herself and many items for future queens and pals. One item We obtained for Ourself is a wonderfully tacky, busy, painted metal trellis like object. The body is covered w/cut and painted stylized metal flowers, b'flies, and ladybugs. It has a very large ladybug windchime hanging from the top. The queen observed that this fanciful trellis would be perceived as a wonderful adornment in a Children's Garden. She intends to plant morning glories up each side and 4 o'clocks at the base. It will coordinate perfectly w/the ladybug windsock received as homage. These items will grace the yard in the most highly visible section. The queen's second gift to Self was a deep brown Tree Face planter which looks, from a distance, to be a small stump. She intends to plant this w/this w/silver thyme which will spill over the sides and place in the Fairy Garden. The Queen is quite tickled by these gifts from Self. Thank you, Self.

Tonight Queen Mud..Mom planted 58 Candy Cane zinnia seeds and 7 yellow crooknecked squash seeds into containers. She set her 4 o'clock "Broken Colors" into warm water to soak overnight. It was 91^ in the Kingdom at 3:00 this afternoon. Miami was 9^ cooler. Winter has given way to summer.

Queen Mud...Mom continues to talk to herself. Today she installed the crazy trellis in the play area and, with the assistance of a few princesses and princes, the ladybug windsocks were hung. These brought delight to the grand-prince when he saw them. She planted out two clumps of Wintersown Bunny Tails next to the tire swing area. They are "blooming", and SOOO attractively soft that they must be stroked by each subject who passes by. She filled her Tree Spirit planter with lemon thyme and placed it in her fairy garden. Perfect!

The queen, fortunately or unfortunately, found it necessary to peruse the local nursery this afternoon. Someone had requested a cutting of her Persian Shield, but it was blooming at the time. She had requested that they wait until bloom was finished. To her sorrow the plant completed its bloom cycle and promptly died. She is now hoping that it scattered many seeds into the area, which will fill the spot with baby shields. This did create a dilemna, though, for she had made a promise. Fortunately, she was able to find a full and healthy Persian Shield in stock, which looked much better than her own before its demise.

The search for the Shield involved a two-edged sword, after all, she had stepped foot into a nursery. Not only did she return home with the promised Persian Shield, but also some of her own wants:
Persian Shield (a second one)
Corkscrew Rush (so cool looking and great green or dried in arrangements)
Lion's Head plant (clusters of orange tubular flowers spring-fall, growth to 6ft and wide, hummer attractor)
Firecracker flower plant
Passiflora Incense (nicely scented & edible fruit)
Mandevilla "Alice Dupont" (pink to go w/her white)

The specific Passiflora was chosen for the BIG, horn covered caterpillar munching away on the leaves. Ooohh! Future butterfly in hand.

The queen must stay away from nurseries, especially since she developed a number of other wishes while there. She had only purchased plants which she already craved.

The storms rumbling through the area waited until after all outdoor work was completed before hitting here heavily. Thank you, storms.

The queen is having a grand month finding excuses to present gifts to herself. She has found it much less costly to send to others, since she does that only ONCE during a month.

The queen hopes that all her subjects are enjoying the wonderful month of May. She can think of no better month to be outside working the gardens and enjoying.

Just waving and leaving a message. Won't bore anyone w/a rundown of the Queen's day. You might like this news. Teenager crashed my computer. Since I have to borrow another to check the boards and post, you won't be hearing from me much. Ta-ta! Don't celebrate too much!

I got your non plant items ready to go, it is a definate that plants will go in later box. when weather is rainy I have trouble with my chest pain, so no digging, but hope to get non plant box out tomorrow, will hope to get dandelions dug next week for your plant box. I'm glad your queen, I have some nice strange items I've picked out for you. hail to the queen. bad time to have broken computer

Queen Muddy Mom,
I love your posts.. I like getting to know each queen better and enjoy knowing what you are doing. Sure do envy you and the space you have for gardening... Ohhhh I wish I wish I wish... SMILING. Maybe one day. Love your month of being spoiled.

Cassie

Ok Little Muddy, your non plant box went out today, probably will get it monday or tuesday. hope you enjoy it. plants should go out next week, weather permitting.

All Hail Queen Muddymom!

So sorry to have left you alone to chat but I too was outside all day. Its hard to go near a computer when it is such a nice day outside. I have spent the entire day mowing, weeding, and constructing raised beds. I've not stuck anything in the beds yet...but I will. :)

I am also working on redesigning my back porch/greenhouse. I am putting up shelves and sorting old flower pots. I still need to clean them.

I don't think any of my family and friends are too impressed yet. But, they don't have visions of plants, flowers, fruits, herbs, trellises, butterflies, and birds running through their heads. Pity them.

The sun is shining and it's a good day on this side of the world.

:) Leann

Queen Muddy, confirmation number says my box was delivered, didya get it? maybe mad cause I forgot to return worm, sorry He is in compost pile, I am looking for deceased slug for your plant pkg, but they dry up when dead so no luck. please post pic of you in crown. carol

Carol, Saturday was wonderful thanks to you! DD15 told me that I had a package. She wanted to open it herself. "But Mom, it's a ROBIN! I can tell because it's from the Robin Lady". She recognized your sticker from the Relaxing Robin.

Sorry, there's no pic of me in my crown because I haven't had time to make one, yet. Too bad because it would have gone so well with those purple knee protector pads I was wearing today. Thank you! You didn't know that I usually sit and stain the seat of my pants because those rocks hurt the knees. I'm going to be making good use of those. What's cool is that my youngest wears knee pads to crawl around outside. Now we look like a Mother/Daughter team.

The bracelet representing a donation to Sri Lankan orphans is *perfect*.

The picnic set was an immediate hit. In fact, the girls started planning a picnic for today before we finished even checking the box. As far as the younger ones were concerned, that picnic set was all important. We all enjoyed our picnic today.

Oh! You cracked me up! I wanted to know what a "Bonsai Potato" is, and now I do! That is so funny! Now they all want to do their own Bonsai Potato. LOL I love crazy stuff, and that fills the bill!

Okay, this mini-PDA thing - If I'd had something like that before my puter crashed, I might still know some important things like the phone numbers of my family members. (No kidding. I had all my phone numbers on there. Can't even call my dh.) Now, all I have to do is figure out how to use this. The kiddos can probably teach me.

The aromatherapy candles are delightful! I love every scent in there!

I've said before that I don't really know everything that I want because there is so much that I'm not familiar with. For example, I'm not the least bit familiar w/any of the seeds you sent. Now I'm looking forward to learning about those.

Carol, your box ran the gamut from the practical, to the crazy, the thoughtful, the educational, and the relaxing. It made me smile and made me laugh. Thank you so much.

Glad you liked it plants went out today, should be there by wednesday.

HOWDY Everyone!
Just wanted to post and give a BIG HELLO to all of you.
Sure sounds like MudMom is having a grand ole time in the Queendom.
I have been in the yard for days, and days, and days etc.
There is sooo much to do!!!!! I am finding it real hard to keep all the house work done and stay in the yard all day, so I work out side for a couple hours then run in and throw a load of laundry in the washer, wash a few dishes, mop the floors, walk the dogs and then fly back outside and continue playing in the dirt. I really wish I never had to come in at all, until dark of course.
Abitodd your reighn is coming up very soon are you ready?
Be prepared to stand by your mail box and wait for all your surprises!!!!you are going to have a blast!
I will be sending out Abitodd's bio and address to all of you in a few days.
Hope you all have a wonderful week.....Treesa207

Gee Treesa, sounds just like at my castle only hold the floor mopping part! LOL why bother, we're just going to dirty it up again in a few hours or less.

Don't even mention Abitodd, I am focussing on what I can present to our current Highness in a timely fashion. Am really still trying to get over her shoe size....LOL! MudMom you know we love you! I thought of Ruby Slippers today while mowing, but that wouldn't quite fit. I did get a great lead from my DD on something that would fit quite well into the Castle de MudMom. So stay tuned... and prepare to defend your mailbox!

As much as I dearly love Deni, I'm not ready to relinquish this throne. May has 31 days and only 17 1/2 of them have passed!

Treesa and Annie, I've MISSED seeing either of you and Heather posting lately. It's so nice to *see* you again!

Treesa, if you read this, please, please, please send me Heather's address since we don't seem to be destined to be able to meet in person. I do have YOUR address, and I've been somewhat tempted to just send these boxes to you so that you could give them to her. Must be something about living in SC in the spring....took me awhile to answer your email & I haven't heard back from either one of you from the notes * sent a few weeks ago. Maybe none of us stay inside long enough to answer emails.

I have another post to make later this evening. I'll explain why the local princes & princesses believed the Queen had gone over the edge today. Who says Queen can't jump up and down in delight going, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" as she grins from ear to ear? It all had to do with the plants that arrived from Carol today. You can picture me hopping in a circle as I did that happy dance. Sure can be tough keeping a crown in place with all that happy dancing going on!

Ok little Muddy are you jumping around because heard of worms are jumping out of it? or sluggies maybe? just dip them in choclate. enjoy carol

I'm trying to use the computer quickly while my dd is at dance class. Carol, I was going, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" over the horseradish! Can't wait 'til it grows enough that I can process some root and watch the whole family scurry out of the house! LOL I don't know how many years it's been since I've had the opportunity to make horseradish - somewhere over 20. You just cannot begin to know how totally thrilled I was.

After I emptied that box, I couldn't figure out how it all fit in there. The alstromeria root system is soooo fascinating. You will need to tell me the preferred growing conditions for that. Does it like moist & well drained? I noticed some gravel among the roots. Yes, those roots could be mistaken for a mass of snails or worms. Really cool! I find it difficult to seem very Queenly while opening packages such as yours.

The parrot's beak is also so cool! Of course, I need to look up how to plant that, as well. You are making me get a real education! I immediately sent the 16yo son out to plant the red banana. I knew he'd have a spot in mind for it. We only have two other bananas - a dwarf (perhaps superdwarf) Cavendish, and a rojo. The red which you sent is different from the rojo. Even appears to have a different growth habit.

I potted the golden eyunomous (sp?) for the time being. I hope I'm not forgetting anything here like I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed the plant markers. They were put to immediate use. We very much needed those. I have worn the *jewelry* you sent ever since it arrived. The blue "Care for One Another" orphan bracelet is a perfect fit for my ankle. First I tried it on my wrist, but that was too floppy & kept trying to sneak off. Since I discovered it was perfect for my ankle, that's where it's been. Makes it easier for others to read as they bow down.

May has been a perfect to be queen for someone who lives in the South. It hasn't been as blistering as many Mays of the past have been, and has allowed planting out in a timely manner. My loads of compost and sand have arrived, allowing me to properly nourish the new plantings as they are set out. Now, if it will only cooperate and RAIN so that the queen may spend less time watering.

Ladies, even if not another thing arrived all month, I would feel that I'd had a fabulous month as Queen of May. Carol, Deni, and Cassie leave me in awe of their thoughtfulness and creativity. The ladies of this realm are all such precious jewels. It is difficult to imagine a more lovely group of royalty.

HRH MuddyMom, I humble myself in unworthiness to be a royal subject of the realm. I have no good excuses ( but plenty of lame ones LOL) but I just can't get my unroyal buns in gear to get you a box in a timely fashion- had hoped to be doing it right now, for mailing, but it's not going to happen.

Don't think I have forgotten you! I will try for tomorrow if work schedule allows and, if not, next week my offerings should grace your doorstep while you are still the reigning champion MudMom Queen of May for a day or two!

I did it! Finished work, raced home, packed, taped labelled and the Royal (but not royally wrapped, I'm afraid) box is in route to the Royal Palace of Queen Muddy. Given the holiday I thought it best to avoid mailing green plants this time Muddy, but there is a little something for everyone in the box. Likely arrival is Saturday- enjoy your remaining reign!

I was surfing around and found this picture of queen muddy mom

My humble offerings are also on their way to the Queen's palace. They should arrive in the next few days.

Jenell

Carol, I LOVE that picture, especially the way that it took a good 40 years off my age. :-)

The Queen is only able to make a brief appearance this evening before she must enter her chariot to retrieve the young princes & princesses from their dance studio. Ahh, they truly do look like young royalty tonight, dressed as they are in their recital costumes. Queen of May totally dislikes recital preparations. Too much scurrying around the countryside to find EXACTLY the specified tights, pants, shoes, and shirts, etc. However, she found it necessary to stop to let Annie know that her wonderful package did arrive today. Tomorrow the queen intends to laud this very fun box appropriately. Perhaps she will be able to avoid eating all those candy kisses before then. Then again, perhaps not. She does love chocolate and tea.

My humble offerings to the Queen of May are also on the way to the castle. They should be there today or early next week.

Leann

Mine too are one the way. Life has been crazy around here and I just found time to to the post office yesterday.

Sheena

Before you leave us, how do you make horseradish sauce? You have been a great queen, gonna miss you. Hope our next ruler is as kind.

The reigning Queen of May had just settled herself in to write the final official postings for her month when, KERPOW! The Queen felt an immediate necessity to abandon the computer and race outdoors to see if her neighbor had exploded a gas can, or some such. She walked all the way to the field of wet and dripping waist-high dandelions. There was no smoke to be seen. Good sign. She did hear voices on the street side of the hedgerow. On investigation, she discovered a car w/the side smashed in and a flat front driver's side tire. She deduced through her keen sense of Queenly logic that the exploding tire was the source of the Kerpow. Thus, she was relieved there was no conflagration and that all people seemed safe for the moment. The queen, however, felt the situation required her assistance in order to avoid further accidents. The one car was stopped dead in the traffic lane, but the other was stopped just as dead in the other lane, out of sight, around the bend. The second car had no working lights. Thus, to the wonder of her neighbor, the Queen of May safely directed traffic until the arrival of the State Trooper about an hour later. This was all against the advice of said strapping neighbor who warned her that she would meet her own demise in the attempt. This evening the Queen of May felt her most regal as she directed her subjects safely around the hazards. It amazed her neighbors that people actually stopped at her command, rolled down their windows when she directed, and proceeded safely around the hazards. Afterwards, she revealed the secret of why drivers obeyed her commands when they had ignored his similar attempts at an earlier accident. She is TINY. People are reluctant to run down a tiny lady and are more willing to roll down their windows and offer help than they are for a strapping large man. Honestly, though, it did take some guts to stand out there with my hands demanding some to stop when I heard them gun their engines as they pulled out of the nearby intersection. However, it was precisely that gunning of engines and my knowledge that those who do that fly around that curve, which compelled me to stop them before they rammed into the dead car around the blind curve.

So much for the queen's exciting evening. The morning was just as exciting as she spent the hours rounding up the other neighbor's steeds (actually, dogs, but HUGE super sized Great Dane and Tick Hound) and repeatedly returning them to their own property. She is now contemplating creating plaster casts of the humongous doggie prints in her gardens. The Queen did not have a happy morning - That is until the mail lady rang the bell, bearing gifts from Leanne and Janelle, wonderful ladies-in-waiting. Though I am sucking a caramel as I type, I fear my praises for those wonderful boxes will have to wait just a wee bit so that I may first sing the overdue praises of Lady Annie, aka Poochella.

Annie, thank you for your patience in waiting for me to get back to a computer. I fear my own computer is in sad shape, as I was informed that the root directory is deceased - all the info appears to be hidden on there somewhere. It's just inaccessible.

Praises to Poochella! Darling, if I had been blessed with nothing more than that CARD, it would have been enough! I got a DOGGIE CARD from Annie!!! Dear, I'm afraid you have made a name for yourself with those cards. Now, you will forever have to seek out cards w/a Pooch motif or people will suspect an imposter. I loved it. I LOVED it. I LOVED IT!

The sword and sheild went to immediate use as the princes and princesses used them to amuse the grand-prince with the light and sound effects. He was mesmerized. Mesmerizing 6 mo. olds is ALWAYS helpful.

The 11yo dd. promptly claimed the pretty notepad with pencil, and the 9yo dd the pink decorated paper plates and napkins. Picnics and tea parties - that's my girls.

I admired the rustic twig star so much that I have decided that my youngsters need to use it as a template to create more to keep and give as gifts. It will go perfectly on the twig and branch arbor that my 16yo built last week! The 15yo dd escaped with the vellum stickers.

Foot soak and aloe skin lotion - Annie, did you know that I was in for a day like today and would NEED those after a morning of running w/the hounds, so to speak?

Plant food, padded envelopes, Scotch tape, peat pots, and plant markers - those staples are ALWAYS needed and appreciated. I never, ever, ever, have regular Scotch tape when I need it because someone has always "borrowed" it. I don't think I will ever have enough plant markers, either; they get used as quickly as they come into the castle.

I wish I knew my French as well as you because the piece de resistance (I know I spelled that wrong) was the dahlia tubers: Chimacum Topaz, Kidd's Climax (How appropriate!) White DP, and Willos Borealis. The kiddos all wanted to know who got what. I told them they would all share. The bed is ready for them already. They will be planted with those from Jody's trade. I thought you might like to know that the ones already planted have some plants all ready for staking! They grow quickly!

Leanne and Janelle, I will sing of the joys contained in your boxes in a separate post. The grand-prince on my lap is getting a wee bit too wiggly to post for an extended time. Yes, I will be infringing slightly on the rising reign of Great Queen Deni, but I'm sure Her Graciousness will allow a post or two from the soon to be former Queen. Nah, I shall always be Queen of May, just as she shall forever be Queen of June. (psst Deni - Queen of May sounds much younger than Queen of June)

Carol, to make horseradish sauce, one grates fresh horseradish root. This may be done the old fashioned way on a fine handgrater; however, the more modern method is to use a blender. First the root is gently peeled. Then diced into small cubes. Add enough water to the blender to cover the blades and then whirl it. CAUTION! This may be much more pungent than expected from the scent of the root, itself. Process in a WELL VENTILATED area. The "heat" of horseradish developes from an enzymic reaction when the cell walls are crushed. The process is halted with the addition of vinegar. Thus, the pungency of the final product can be controlled by the timing of the addition of the vinegar. For "mild" horseradish, add the vinegar immediately after grating. For a most potent effect, add from 3 to 5 minutes after. It is 2 to 3 Tablespoons of vinegar per cup of grated root. Also add from a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of salt, depending on preference. May be stored for a few weeks in fridge, or for 6 mos. or so in freezer. That's the "horsey" part. For the sauce, you may combine that w/mayo, or 1/2 mayo 1/2 cream, or add to a tomato based sauce (eg catsup) for seafood sauce. Also, I have utmost confidence in the rising Queen of May. She, as are you and the other queens, is so far beyond kind that I am humbled. We will all, undoubtedly, enjoy her reign immensely.

Diana you just rock- out there directing dangerous traffic in your size 6's or are they 5's? LOL You should have taken your sword and shield to aid your very dedicated traffic control efforts and the highway patrol (possibly medical personnel) would have arrived much sooner!

Glad you and the kids enjoyed your variety of things and I am humbled again to have been so late for the most worthy Queen of May.

Thank you wonderful ladies - Cassie, Deni, Carol, Annie, Leann, and Janell. Your wonderfully thoughtful, extremely generous, and creative gifts left me in awe and feeling humbled. I only hope that my own offerings to my sister queens will seem worthy after experiencing the pleasures you have given me this past month. Sheena, I have not forgotten you, and will let you know as soon as possible when it arrives. Leann and Janell, there are tomes forthcoming which will sing of the glorious boxes which brought sunshine to this rainy week. I do believe the two of you were in collusion to break my resolve to sow no more seeds in the near future. I spent the afternoon, this first day of June, planting seeds in my kitchen.

All hail Queen of June! Queen Deni, may your June reign be as filled with joy as my own reign during May.

MUDPLAYINGFAMILYSMOM, MY APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE, THIS LAST MONTH HAS BEEN VERY BUSY FOR ME. HAVEN'T READ ALL THE POSTINGS, BUT I DID SEE YOUR VERY FIRST ONE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY, I BOW DOWN TO YOU, FOR THE JOB AND ROLE YOU HAVE. ESPECIALLY NOW ADAYS. I CAN ONLY PICTURE WHAT YOUR HOME MUST BE, WITH THE BUSY LIVES YOU ALL SEEM TO HAVE. LOVE THOSE BIG FAMILIES. I HOPE YOU REALLY ENJOYED YOUR MONTH OF ROYALITY, AND YOUR BOX SHOULD BE THERE TOMORROW. AGAIN I AM SORRY, I MAY BE LATE, BUT I WILL ALWAYS COME THROUGH. I HAVE TO SAY THE WEATHER HERE IN MICHIGAN HAS FINAL STABILIZED, MEANING NO FROST, AND HAVE FINALLY BEEN ABLE TO PLANT. LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR. BEST WISHES, ANNIEUP

Ack! I typed a long message & it disappeared. Don't have time to retype right now. Neoma & Sheena, your packages arrived yesterday. I now have a batch of thank yous to post this weekend. Thank you ladies for a fabulous week!

All hail queen Deni.
queen of October

A picture of queen Deni, when she was a bit younger. destined to be a queen

Cute Carol! You always find the cute gifs to post.

Queen Deni are you going to bark out any royal orders like "get to work and get off those computers!" I could surely use some royal motivation...

Congratulations on the arrival of your official reign- enjoy it!

Ah Your Royal Highness the Queen of May--alas your box has been lost in my house in the mess that has been made by my move---Yes I am moving---and have MANY boxes as I lived in a 6 bedroom victorian --now in a two bedroom--and am moving again to another two bedroom--I have boxes to the ceiling --and my son-bless him-stacked them all in one room--It will be easier to just make a new one than to try to find it-which I will and also make one for Her Royal Highness the Queen of June and mail them both promptly!!
I do beg your forgiveness dear Queen of May and will correct this in all haste
Your humble servent
Jeanette (aka Queen of March 2006)

Good Day all,

I am not one to bark out orders...So I will just follow your lead and say get off them puters and get those gardens in order. The queen would like you all to have a few day this month to sit back and enjoy your gardens. Of coruse any of the royal subjects out there that would like to take a road trip I have lots of work to do in the gardens :) Hope everyone is well and I can not remember if I ever emailed you back Mudmom...The flower would be pink Phlox or Megenta Bee Balm.

Your Highness
Queen Deni

Greetings once again from the Queen of May. The Good Queen Mother, Queen of March, AKA Treesa, sends her Tidings of Welcome to Deni, Queen of June. Her Highness bids you a most wonderfully enjoyable month and regrets that she is unable to post her welcome message herself because she also is suffering from computer difficulties which prevent the site pages from loading. In her letter to me she related how her beautiful backyard has become a pond, thanks to what seemed like endless rain through our dear state of SC. We were treated by Mother Nature to a straight week of rain before our annual steam cooker summer heat really kicked in. On the positive side, those rains eliminated the need to water potted plants three times daily. A week's break from that was welcomed, though it did not allow any much needed planting to be accomplished.

The Queen of May still owes Thank You notes to the Queens mentioned in her previous post. She is still in a whirlwind of kid shuttling and limited in her computer time. She has not forgotten any of you.

Greetings to all my loyal subjects,

I received a wonderful offering from Princess Carol today,
3 Lovely Iris's
A pair of gloves to keep my royal hands and nails beautiful
a cute little froggy pot hanger
a very cute glass lady bug
a package of wonderful aroma therapy candles - smell so good
a really neat tool thingy with everyhting you could imagine in it.

Thank you so much Princess Carol

Queen Deni

You are very welcome, did I forget to include your note?
The tool thingy I thought was cute beacause it matches the gloves. glad you enjoyed the box.

Can someone please send me Her Royal Majesty Deni's address so I can get her package out to her. Thanks!

Good Queen Heather, Monarch of April, I have confirmations which say that the two packages which I tried to deliver to you in person, but gave up and finally mailed to you, arrived last week. Please let me know whether it truly was your own doorstep to which they were delivered, and whether they were in acceptable condition on arrival. I've remained in suspense hoping you would post or email me. Thank you.

Gardeningnut, did you get that address you requested?

I do not speak the language and do not spell the language, but ask you to proceed to Part Trois. Go ahead and make fun of me if it is spelled incorrectly.