Papaya Proud!

I'm "Papaya Proud"!!

I can't resist mentioning our new variety of papaya...

Royal Star

Actually it's my husband, our son and our two

business partners who I am really proud of.

We farm near Manzanillo, Mexico.

Our son heads up the organization down there

with two men who have been with us almost since the

beginning.

My husband oversees the arrival of the papaya from

Mexico, the sales and quality control.

Our sales staff must be commended as well.

We have an exclusive on this variety of papaya.

That means we are the only growers who can

have this seed.

Not a papaya lover?

... I wasn't either...

until this papaya came on the scene.

This past weekend roughly 18,000 attendees roamed the

exhibit hall in Atlanta at PMA...

Produce Marketing Association.

My husband and son were both thrilled with the

response to our new papaya.

Good job, men!

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

And here it is Mosaic Monday again and once more

I am joining in over at

Little Red House for all  the fun!!

(Frankly, I'm working on perfect attendance!! lol)

Oops! Almost forgot to mention... notice the picture of the papaya cut in half? Do you see the star where the seeds are.

Yes... that's how we named this very sweet papaya.

Enjoy!

5 Amazing Women!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Have you had your mammies grammed???

These are some of the most beautiful women in my life.

Linda in the blue blouse is a high school friend, former roommate and best of all... a breast cancer survivor... twice! Linda donned her boxing gloves and fought... hard. She is one fine lady and I'm so proud to know her. 

The lady in white I met through a favorite book series... The Mitford series by Jan Karon. Lynne knew her chances were high that she would be dealing with breast cancer. ALL of the women in her family had developed it. When her tests came back with the diagnosis of breast cancer, she was prepared to do battle. It has not been an easy road, but Lynne has come out on top. Her faith in God, her wonderful husband and family support and tremendous medical care were there for her. She is one amazing and dear friend.

Norma Jean is a the top left of my collage. She is my cousin. You may have seen Norma and me in previous photos as she and I do the famous "kick" in our family. Our mothers were best friends as well as aunt and niece. They invented the family kick where they would always be photographed together kicking. Well, Norma has KICKED breast cancer and I am so very grateful for that.

To the right of Norma is my aunt, Jo Anne. She is my father's younger sister. She had breast cancer over 30 years ago. Yes, indeed. Treatments were even harder on the body 30 years ago .. or so I am told. Friends, it's a trip through Hades they say. I love my Aunt Jo Anne dearly and I am so thankful she is still in my life.


 My sister-in-law and dear friend, Tissa, is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Tissa is wearing green.. and, yes, I got into the picture with her. (Thank God I have not had to deal with this horrid disease!) Tissa has been a shining example of a brave woman who is tackling breast cancer. We have all been blessed to have her in our lives!

Early detection is key!! Get your mammogram.

Don't live in a "dream world"... this can happen to us!

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

I am so thrilled to link to How Sweet the Sound for
Pink Saturday!
This has given me the perfect opportunity to  share with you
5 Amazing Women !!

My New Favorite Salad!

Recently I had lunch at the Garden Room located about

a mile and half from me. It's new and a perfect place for my

friends and I to meet for lunch.

I ordered a wonderful salad that was full of grilled veggies.

This didn't turn out to be exactly like it (I'm terrible at grilling vegetable!), but it was my inspiration for this salad that my husband, son and I like so much, I've served it three times since last week. I've earned raves reviews too!

Saute in olive oil - coarsely chopped green onions,  red bell pepper, yellow and zucchini squash, eggplant peeled or unpeeled, and minced garlic. May have to cover with a lid for awhile for veggies to cook through. Cool slightly and then place on top of romaine or red tip lettuce. I cooked shrimp, seasoned with cajun spices to add on top of the salad. I would say add a very good  vinaigrette dressing

but...

true confessions

I used just a bit of good ol' Ranch Dressing!

I like the creaminess it added to this salad.

My son added feta cheese.

I can't wait for Friday as I'll be linking to

Designs by Gollum

http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/



The Colors of Today

When life just becomes a little too much "life"...

we head to the deer lease... or "ranch" as we call it.

It's only an hour and fifteen minutes from our home to our

"ranch home".

It's been bone dry with searing heat these past few months,

but just last week the ranch received 2 1/2" inches of the

precious wet stuff.

What a difference!

The grass was actually green.

So beautiful and so peaceful.

Then... we came home to a breath-taking

glow in the sky.

I couldn't actually see the sun as it was setting because I

was working on this 'yer blog.

I grabbed my camera and ran outside to catch

that glow. I found two fireflies who were

flying around enjoying the evening too.

I could actually see the face in the moon as well.

Such gorgeous colors.

And then I turned and saw through the window the view into our breakfast nook where I sit

to doing my blogging.

I just stood there and stared at it.

The room isn't perfect ... nothing in particular on the walls,

but the room glowed that golden orangy-yellow

that I see in so many pictures on my favorite blogs.

It truly made me feel warm inside.

And, yes...

"God's in his heaven...."

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Now for some exquisite photos of fabulous colors

visit Little Red House!

You'll find me there enjoying this blog and others.

Run Katherine Run!

CHICAGO MARATHON:
 A MOTHER'S REQUEST

Last fall, when Laura's (White Spray Paint) husband was diagnosed with

Parkinson's,  their youngest daughter took matters into

own hands.

She entered the Chicago Marathon as a member of

Team Fox,

sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.

She is running for a cure.

Laura writes, "I have felt humbled here and there in my lifetime, certainly, but

our daughter's selfless act of love and devotion has far surpassed anything I have

ever experienced."

She currently wakes at 4:00 a.m.,

drives from Dallas to Lovejoy,

where she teaches high school English,

and does her morning

run

before beginning her teaching day.

Laura is making a simple request, stating that she knows the power of blogland...

"Please display the button above in your sidebar to show your support

and to send Katherine prayers and good wishes."

Laura, her husband and two other daughters will be there cheering

Katherine on.

They want us all there, through our prayers, too! 

For Laura's latest post regarding the Chicago Marathon and

Katherine's participation, visit her blog



http://whitespraypaint.blogspot.com/

Run Katherine Run!!

Congratulations, Heather!

Congratulations, Heather!!

Today you have made the five year mark.

Ovarian cancer was not what we wanted to hear

May 10, 2006

(Heather with her mother)

But out of this horrible disease...

You've become

* A warrior

* An advocate for others fighting cancer

* A mom

* A newspaper columnist

* A volunteer dedicating hours to

civic causes

You're a fabulous

* follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ

*wife

*mother

*daughter

*sister

*friend... dear friend

You are amazing, Heather!

We love you,

Karen and David

To read more about Heather and ovarian cancer visit my September 8th posting.