Bits and Pieces

   Our home has been busy as usual.  We had a full weekend with Easter and Ryder's birthday all mixed into a busier than usual weekend.  My "baby" isn't a baby anymore at over 6 feet tall and only in his early teens! He has more growing to do! He requested several different birthday cakes this year.  He asked that my mom make him a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  She was more than happy to make it. He wanted a Chocolate Chip Cookie "cake" from Walmart and asked me to make a Funfetti Cake and a Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing! He has been having leftover cake for every meal since his party!

   Easter was a great day of celebration.  We attended church services on Sunday morning. After church we headed home to make a dessert for dinner with Jeremiah's family.  I made a Pistachio Pudding Salad.  My mother-in-law requested it so I told her I would make it. It really is good if you like pistachio pudding.  (Side note here:  my younger brother liked pistachio pudding as a kid but didn't like the little nuts in it so my mom and I would sift out the nuts and make a smooth pudding for him!) My In-laws had most of the food prepared so there wasn't much to make.  Jeremiah's aunt made collard greens. I will say that I lived my life having never eaten greens before until Thanksgiving 2014. I have only ever tasted hers and they are delicious.  The meal was rounded out with ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, spinach salad, a cheesy hash brown dish, maple baked beans, macaroni and cheese, broccoli cauliflower salad and rolls.  I am sure I am missing some items.  Dessert was several peach and apple pies along with ice cream, cookies, quick breads, and the pistachio pudding salad.

   Spring is coming quickly!  We have some daffodils blooming at the entrance to one of the pastures. They look so "happy" blooming there!  :-)   We are starting to see some of the trees coming into bud.  Ryder and his two friends like to make maple syrup each spring and they were able to get some boiled before the buds came.

  We went to our local Aldi's store several weeks back and I picked up some of the plants they had for sale there. I was very happy with them.  They are very healthy and sturdy. We purchased two Spider Plants, two Boston Ferns and one Wandering Jew.  After getting them home and seeing how nice the Wandering Jew was I wished I would have gotten two of them.  I wasn't sure how nice they were at the store.