Belated Birthday & Anniversary Wishes from August

{I did say they were belated!}

We have two anniversaries and two birthdays to celebrate in August, so I decided a Zebra Cake would be fun. This is to be enjoyed virtually... but if anyone reading this lives in Broward or Dade Counties in Florida, you can purchase a real cake from www.ilyscakes.com. They deliver to several towns in the area.  Isn't this a spectacular cake? Wow!  I wish I could buy one. Visit her website {click on her website url above} and check out some of her other wonderful creations!

Here are the two happy anniversary couples enjoying a rare visit together. Mom and Dad are on the left and my Aunt and Uncle are on the right. They wish the miles were not so far apart between their homes. I think it is neat that Mom and her DS {Dear Sister} share the same month for their wedding anniversaries because my DS and I share the same month for ours! 

A few days after celebrating their wedding anniversary, Mom had a birthday.  This is a picture of Mom with Avery, who enjoys life with my DS and her family. {Out of courtesy and respect for privacy, you will find that I only post the names of our beloved pets and not our human family members.} Grand-dogs are grand indeed!

A few days after my Aunt and Uncle celebrated their anniversary, my DB {Dear Brother} celebrated his birthday. This is a picture of him with Dad at the family August celebration. As you can see, my family shares birthday months in addition to anniversaries {DB and Mom share August. Dad, DS & I also share a month}.

Best wishes to our celebrated August family members!

Special thanks to my DS for the wonderful pictures!  She keeps me up to date on family events when I am not able to be there.

P.S.  Once again I was holding off thinking I would start a website and have a blog as an offshoot of the website. I have started a website, but am waiting to unveil it at a future time.  I finally came to my senses and decided if I did a blog as an offshoot, I will just put the teasers or first part of these blog posts on that site and have a link over to this blog... that way I will keep posting and not lose valuable time thinking about where to blog. In other words, I like my little blog home right here. LOL!   

Kudzu ~ Southern all the way!

For anyone who has lived in the South at some time or other, Kudzu is an ordinary plant you see almost everywhere you go. It is quite prolific. In case you are not familiar with Kudzu, here is the definition:

If something does not move in the South, there is a very large possibility Kudzu will overtake it. When Kudzu covers plants and trees, it chokes them to death by blocking their sunlight. It is not uncommon to see miles and miles of Kudzu. On my trip back home, I wanted to capture some of the "flavor" of Kudzu on the vine. DB {Dear Brother} had remembered me commenting on my trip last summer that I would love to get pictures of some Kudzu for my blog. A week or so before my trip this summer, DB and DSIL {Dear Sister-in-Law} scouted out some places for me.

I am not exaggerating when I say if something does not move, with all probability it will be taken over by Kudzu. Proof positive:

Look closely at the grey in the picture above. Yes ~ that is the roof of an abandoned house that is almost totally covered in Kudzu! It is not uncommon to see abandoned vehicles covered also.

Wonder what the homeowner is thinking with the Kudzu getting so close to their home?

If you think I have lost my mind, perhaps you should know that Kudzu can literally grow a foot a day during the summer and there is actually one herbicide that increased the growth instead of killing it! Right click on the word Kudzu below and choose 'Open in a New Window' so you will not be directed away from this blog post. The University of Tennessee produced this video with some interesting information: Kudzu

With such an abundance of Kudzu, perhaps the man in this next video has hit upon something {Once again right click and choose 'Open in New Window'}: Channel 9 Newstory

I will close with one last little bit of Kudzu info you might find of interest:


Just remember ~ if you decide to make a salad with Kudzu, you better eat it fast...