The Best Wings In The World

Okay, that's a pretty big boast, but since its son Jack's recipe am I allowed? Just a little parental pride? You'll need a large package of fresh chicken wings, salt and pepper, one bottle Mojo marinade, fresh garlic, Tabasco sauce, one bottle Sweet Baby Rays barbeque sauce, one can unsweetened pineapple juice, a disposable aluminum pan, foil, and a charcoal grill
Start with a large package of fresh wings, about 24 pieces. Season on all sides with salt and pepper and place these in a ziplock bag with one eight ounce bottle of Mojo marinade, three cloves of garlic, and one Tablespoon Tabasco sauce. Marinate for at least an hour but not more than six hours. Place the wings on a hot charcoal grill for 20 minutes, turning and basting with the marinade after 10 minutes. Then move the wings to a disposable aluminum pan, cover with one bottle Sweet Baby Rays barbeque sauce and two cups unsweetened pineapple juice. Cover the pan with heavy foil and leave on covered grill for 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from pan and serve with cole slaw, barbeque beans, and bread. The wings will be falling-off-the-bone tender and have a fabulous flavor.

Barbeque Shrimp

This recipe has the best of both worlds.....seafood and barbeque....with bacon and Sweet Baby Rays sauce for good measure. Nothing wrong with that!

To serve four hungry adults or a family of six, two pounds of fresh large gulf shrimp is plenty. Peel, devein , and rinse the shrimp them wrap each one with half a strip of bacon. Thread five or six wrapped shrimps on presoaked bamboo skewers and brush with olive oil. Place on grill away from direct flame and cook about three minutes on each side. The result should be firm, pink shrimp and crispy bacon. Serve on plates with Sweet Baby Rays barbeque sauce on top.

To complete your meal add thick slices of Beefsteak tomatoes, cheesy garlic grits and fresh baby butter beans. What could be better than that!

Fourth Of July Love

I hereby declare my daughter Emily the Best Daughter In The World. I've been suffering from an untimely bout with summer bronchitis and she has come to the rescue. With my sister, brother-in-law, and six nieces and nephews arriving to move in next door and an Independence Day celebration to put on there was no time to lie on my fainting couch. But this lack of oxygen was not letting me get up for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. So Emily swept in on Saturday afternoon with an armload of red and white roses, sparklers, ingredients for a Peach and Blueberry Cobbler and Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars for the newly arriving kiddies. There was a flurry of peeling, chopping, measuring, mixing in the kitchen and....voila! a beautiful holiday spread. She served a delicious spaghetti with grilled Italian sausage and garlic bread to the hungry travelers then the fabulous desserts after some vigorous sparkler waving outside. Whew! How in the world can she top this performance? I think she's planning homemade ice cream and watermelon for Sunday after church.

Look Who's Coming To Town

Due to an incredible set of circumstances and all the tumblers of Fate falling into place, a one-in-a-million chance is about to come in. My sister and her family are going to become my new next door neighbors. It's only for a year but I'll take whatever I can get.

Because of our age difference, we've only lived in the same house five years of our lives. After that we lived in the same town only a couple of years. We talk on the phone several times a week and visit back and forth a few times a year, but it's just not the same as being right there day to day.

Now we'll be able to do neighborly things like borrow sugar, check mail, and dog sit for each other. But my favorite part about this whole deal is having my six nieces and nephews right next door so I can spoil them on a daily basis instead of just on Aunt H visits.
I'm sure my sister won't mind if I ruin their appetites with goodies and let them play Wii whenever they want to. There's lots of catching up to do with random gift giving and baseball games. They'll probably want to go to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island at least once a week, too. Think of all the cute clothes I can buy! This is going to be fun.

English Roses

Can you blame me for loving the name of this rose? It's Teasing Georgia and besides having a fun name it has gorgeous color, bold fragrance, and can be grown as a climber or tea rose.

Abraham Darby is a brave little rose. For a smaller plant it works hard to impress with a fully double, deep-cupped bloom. It doesn't settle for one color, either, going from apricot with pink edges to yellow as it opens. On top of all that it has bold fragrance and can be a short climber or prune for a more compact plant.

This feminine little lady is Tamara. Another compact plant that would be perfect in a container or as a mass planting with morning exposure. The apricot double bloom has a shallow cup and pink tips. It's fragrance is a very unusual lilac and mimosa blend.

Don't let the name"English roses" throw you...all of these do well in the US. The three that I featured here can even thrive in zones 9-10. Generally, afternoon sun will be too strong for them in these zones and they will need daily watering if it's not raining. Try these beauties and you'll be rewarded for your labor of love.

Cure for the brown thumb

Who hasn't seen those beautiful rose gardens and wished they could have just a small part of one? Think of roses and visions of spraying, pruning, dead-heading, and spraying some more come to mind, right? In some states the results are just not worth the trouble. If you've wished of having roses without all the bother you've got to try the Knockout rose. This amazing performer loves heat and humidity. It laughs at fungus and red spider mites. It's self-cleaning(not like an oven) which means no dead-heading. No pruning necessary, either. You can stick one right in the middle of a flower border or a pot on the deck. I love them massed in front of evergreen shrubs with thyme planted in front. Along a fence would be nice. If you plant one today you'll have blooms in a week if not sooner. Just be sure to give them a good soak the day you plant and everyday it doesn't rain for about a month. A good trick is to fill the planting hole with moisture retentive soil mix (in bags at Home Depot)then you can skip some of the watering. Just don't let them go completely dry. Clusters of cherry red blooms are your reward for a little bit of time grubbing in the garden. You can't beat the Knockout Rose!

The Night Before

We hosted a rehearsal dinner for our good friend's son's wedding last Thursday night. It was a group effort by the best friends in the world and a wonderful time was had by all.
There were six tables and each one was decorated a little bit different from the others.

The theme for the decor was birds in spring. Birds, nests, birdcages, and pots of fresh grass and flowers everywhere.


The decadent desserts were set out in the dining room. Betcha can't eat just one!

The happy couple just one day before wedded bliss.

Beautiful Music Together

Welcome back to windy corner!!! I had to take a couple of weeks off to help put on a wedding for one of my favorite people so am tired but happy. Here's a little clip that sums up the mood right now.

What is it?

This is a photo taken with high speed shutter and flash of a pellet being shot through four microscope lenses.
For more incredible images go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/5049293/High-speed-photographs-by-Alan-Sailer-capture-the-moment-a-pellet-fired-from-an-air-rifle-hits-an-object.html .

What A Difference A Year Makes

About a year ago I had dreams of a well-organized craft room with a place to sew and a table to craft. Shelves neatly labeled to hold all my fabric, paper, and fluffing stuff. Of course, a big comfy chair in the corner to sit in while I hand sew or flip through books for inspiration is a must. All contained in a bright sunny room with a big oak tree right out the window. That dream bubble burst last year when my sons moved back home from out west. The studio became a boys room instead.
Well, last week my oldest son moved back west to Lake Tahoe so to keep from crying I worked my rear end off cleaning the upstairs like it's never been cleaned before.

Trash cans filled up and closets and drawers emptied. Blinds, windows, walls, and doors got the scrubbing of their lives. Furniture got polished and curtains got washed. Now I've got a clean slate to start up that dream again.

Wish List

The wish list is the best part of shopping on the internet. You can browse through

beautiful linens and soaps, books and shoes, and then

just add whatever you like to the wishlist.

Ideally , your fairy godmother will check your list from time to time and put all those goodies your heart desires

under your pillow about once a month.

Happy Pink Saturday!!!!!

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