Flowers from My Valentine

Yesterday my littlest Valentine came over with her mother and brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. What a wonderful surprise to brighten my day.
This has been a week of one thing after another. My father is in the hospital and will be for a few weeks. He has antibiotics that they need to give him via IV three times a day. He's feeling fine otherwise. Last Thursday KMonster had a home basketball game that we attended. Saturday was the Princess's basketball tournament out of town that she needed me to drive her to (pictures to come for both games). Had the little Princess overnight Sunday because her parents were going into town on Monday and she has pre-school in the afternoon. We had a sales presentation to attend (yeah, I signed up of a drawing at Big Boys Toy Show) which took a couple three hours on Tuesday, then we went to visit Dad. Wednesday I ended up having grandsons over for supper, their folks were late coming home from town and they were hungry. Thursday we went to town for groceries, we were about out of everything since we hadn't done any real grocery shopping in a couple of months. So in between times I've been working on the pictures from Big Boys Toy Show and should have something to post in the next couple of days. Tonight we have a Sweetheart Dinner to attend at my parents church.

Now I'd like to share my surprise flowers. Just before cold weather really set in last year I cut a bunch of snapdragons that were still in bloom so I could enjoy them in the house. One stem stayed green after the flowers died and fell off so I just left it in the water. After a few weeks, roots began to appear. More recently, buds and just last week they bloomed.

I had thought that the blooms might be small since they had been inside in water and not getting the nutrients from the soil, but they appear to be full size.

The roots look rather pretty in the little glass vase.

I hope everyone has a very...

Y HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY Y

Grandma's Flower Garden

Where I remember seeing Grandma Seigal most is standing in her kitchen or playing her piano. I remember helping pick strawberries out back in her strawberry patch, but I wouldn't eat them, still won't. I remember the musty smell of her basement where we stayed when we visited and grandpa's bedroom window that opened inside the back porch area over the basement stairwell. The large, enclosed back porch used to be the outer wall.
It was because of grandma's stove that I had my heart set on a stove that had a range with a griddle in the middle. As a young wife and new home owner I had just about given up when we found it. My range with the fifth burner that changed out to a griddle in the middle. But most of all, what I remember of grandma's house was her flowers....

...here's a color picture taken looking toward the road.
There was one flower in particular that I specially loved... the Snapdragons...
...did you see them above? Look over the back of the donkey and trailer. (I loved her donkey too.)
This year I finally had Snapdragons bloom...
I planted them two years ago...

...and just before they'd bud, something bit them right off the top.
The whole plant wasn't eaten, a stalk three or four inches tall was always left. So they came up again, last year. But it wasn't till this year that they bloomed. I think it was the rabbits that live in my yard. This year a little rubber snake got tossed at the base of them. Do you know WHY they're called Snapdragons? See the picture below...
If you pinch their jaws just right, they'll open their mouths, wide.