Wildflowers

This is another postcard I purchased (at Sunrift Adventures) yesterday afternoon while letterboxing.

Oconee Station State Park is located near Walhalla, South Carolina.

The Oconee Station Falls (a.k.a. Station Cove Falls) trail is 7/10 mile on a wide, mostly flat, old logging road.  I guess at least some of these wildflowers (pictured above) can be seen along the trail?  I'm not sure; I haven't been to this park.

The wildflowers pictured above (from left to right, top to bottom) are:
     Bloodroot
     Canada Violet
     Sessile Bellwort
     Dwarf Iris
     Toadshade
     Foamflower
     Yellow Trillium
     Rue-Anemone

At the end of the trail, the Oconee Station Falls trickles over the edge of a 50-foot high ledge.

Of note, the park features several Revolutionary War-era structures.

Flowers

I knew it had been a while since I had made a special lunch for T.  When I double-checked, I discovered it had been almost two months.  :/

So...today, I made this lunch for T.

• three flower-shaped sandwiches (one on white bread and two on wheat bread) with carrot slices for the centers
• flower-shaped tortilla chips
• fresh pineapple in a flower-shaped silicone muffin cup
• caterpillar and butterfly Keebler Bug Bites cinnamon graham crackers

The lunch was well-received.  :)

Linked to:
   What's for Lunch Wednesday
   Fun Food Friday

Spring

...is here, finally!

Linked to:
   Wordless Wednesday

Happy 80th!

Last weekend, we celebrated my mom's 80th birthday.  My parents, my siblings, and their families had a get-together at my parents' house.

My brother organized it.  He brought a honey-baked ham.  Each of the rest of us brought one (or more) dishes of food.

Here was our menu:
     honey-baked ham
     pineapple casserole
     au gratin potatoes
     candied yams
     green beans
     corn
     deviled eggs
     potato salad
     rolls

My older sister brought some appetizers:
     cocktail meatballs
     cheese and crackers
     grapes

My brother also asked some of us to provide other party details:
     My younger sister dusted and vacuumed my parents' house the day before the party.
     My older sister brought the birthday cake.

     I brought the centerpiece, paper plates, napkins, and plasticware.

I made the centerpiece to match the plates and napkins I had selected.

The tulips are cut from cardstock, the stems are green paper straws, the leaves are green tissue paper, the grass is green styrofoam, and the ground is a piece of wood.

Nineteen of us celebrated together.

my dad's cousin-in-law, my younger sister,
my mom, my older sister

my husband, my dad, my brother,
 my brother's wife

Here's the birthday girl...ready for us to sing "Happy Birthday" to her!

I told my mom, "Don't forget to make a birthday wish!"  :)  She blew out the candles on her cake...with the help of two of her great-grandsons.  Afterward, the younger great-grandson said, "I didn't know what to wish for!"  ;o)

Love you, Mom...and wishing you many happy returns.

May Flowers

April showers bring...May FLOWERS!

After making the Flowerpot Cupcakes for my mom and my mother-in-law, I thought we would share the extras.  I fixed these little plates especially for the employees who report to T's papa, and we went to his office this afternoon to deliver them.

T gave each person a little card along with the goodie.

Some of the comments from the recipients were:

• Did you not have anything better to do all day??!
• Here comes Martha Stewart.  (I had to LOL on that one.)
• I feel so special.

~Lots of fun.  :)

Flowerpot Cupcakes

After seeing the recipe for Flowerpot Cupcakes in a cookbook, I decided to make some for my mom and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

The flowerpot has a cookie base and is filled with devil's food cake.  The cupcake is frosted with chocolate frosting and sprinkled with chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (dirt).

The flower is a sugar cookie, baked on a green toothpick (stem).  It is frosted with tinted icing, and the center of the flower is a candy sprinkle.

The leaf is a flattened green gumdrop.

The grass is coconut, tinted green.

I purchased a plastic banana split dish from Party City to hold the arrangement.

They were fun (but time-consuming) to make.  :)

Source:  Betty Crocker Best Cupcakes & More

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