I'm in Love~...We had a "Jack & Jill" shower, before getting married {in Sept.2005}, and my most favorite gift was from "my boyfriend" Jim. {Yes, my husband, Art, always introduces us as "this is my wife,and this is her boyfriend." It's been a joke for as long as I can remember knowing Jim.} Anyhow, back to the GIFT!!! This is it...
Isn't it beautiful???? It is a simple little food chopper, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I used it AT ALL, for the first 4 years that I had it!!!! Then, one day, I remembered that it was in my cabinet, and I took it out, I think because my daughter was making something that needed to be chopped up.... She used it a few times, before I ever realized how great it was!!!
Today, while in Sam's Club, I saw this huge bag of Walnuts and couldn't resist... Even though I know I had just bought a "normal" size bag at the grocery store a few weeks ago, and I don't think I've even opened that one, I figured, heck, why not?!!?
The holidays are coming, and I'll be using lots of walnuts then. Plus, we've been "on this kick" here, with Morning Glory Oat Muffins being made almost weekly, and though they call for pecans, I've yet to put pecans in them...I've used walnuts instead... {If I knew how to make my words into links, then I'd make my MGOMuffins link to their recipe...since I don't, I'll have to post it later for you!}
Another great {and easy!} recipe that I use my food chopper with, is this pesto. Yummmm!!! This is soooo gooood!!!! And knowing the basil is from my backyard makes it taste even better!!! {Again, with the linky thingy, I would so post the pesto recipe when you would click on the word pesto~~HINT, HINT....anyone want to teach me how to do this???}
Tonite was a quick dinner. Another new appliance I'm loving is my rice cooker. I worked in a Japanese restaurant for 20 years, why did I never get myself one of these before???? I so love steamed white rice....I know, I know, brown rice is better for me....
Tonite's dinner was perch {white fish} baked in my favorite little brownware baking dish with butter and garlic, white rice, and some lightly sauteed zucchini, mushrooms,onions,and peppers, with a bit of pesto added. I was sad knowing that these were the last of the peppers from my garden.... Time to start another!!! {That's an exciting thing about being in Florida! I can plant my garden more than once a year!!!} oh, yeah, I also heated up some boxed popcorn shrimp {something we NEVER buy!} and made my own cocktail sauce with horseradish and ketchup...
Two days ago, I made a Lemon Cake {another recipe to post later!}, so we'll have some of that for dessert. We had it with freshly made lemonade that first night!
And what better way to end the day, then to be able to watch The Tampa Bay Rays playing against the Boston Red Sox!!!
Here's a picture of some of my finds.... can you tell I love all things wood???
A set of 4 needlepoint/wooden coasters, never taken out of the pkg! I'll have to think about what the needlework pattern will be that I'll do on these.... 
the mirrored thing, i picked up, thinking it'd make a gift for Steph.... {she saw it in my pile at the store! and said, "oh, that's so cute, I want it!!" so I guess I thought right with that!!!} 
When I got this table, I used it for my laptop alot,...for some of my treasured Christmas houses some years, ...for my daughter's wedding cake in '03....,as a "catchall"/knickknack table in front of my "half-wall" in my living room...
this is out front.... plants were put in back in '07, new red mulch {one bag so far}added today...
LOOK, NO LEAVES!!!!!! Whew, I raked so many magnolia leaves today!!!!
See, here's one of the many magnolia leaf piles!!!! June, and I'm raking leaves!!!!! No autumn raking here!!! {it's normally now and in Feb.!!!}
here's a pineapple top I put in the ground last week.... and an avocado pit that was thrown out has started, all by itself!!! {that actually I noticed back in March... WOW, can u believe it's still alive {with my black thumb, LOL!} Butternut squash plants behind it, and I threw some little mini pumpkin seeds in near the squash plants....
"...and with a broken wing, she still sings"...... I bought this cute little garden statue with fairy wings years ago, marked down cuz of the broken wing... But I loved it anyway!!! Always said that I'd paint a little sign with this song quote, and have it near this statue.... maybe someday!!!!
Also, you can see my love of rustic wood!! The miniature "screen door" looking shelf, I fell in love with, last fall, when I found it at an autumn festival, with 100's {!!!} of craft tables and some little stores, too {!!}~~ I really knew I had to have it, when I saw the price tag said $3.00!!!! 
The red rose, is in a bud vase.... I went over to my neighbor's last night, to "prune" her roses for her..... She's now in a nursing home, and the nasty grasshoppers are enjoying her beautiful roses! I picked 2 stems that had 6 roses on each!!! And then 3 long stem single beauties! I really need to get over there with my bigger pruning tools, this rose bush is out of control!!! 
Here's the hat I made for my brandnew nephew....
