I've learned that it's the small things that are important in life, as is living gratefully. Since the year is winding down, I took a look back and came up with ten moments of 2017 that made me feel grateful. Here they are:

1. Finding my favorite treat on the copy room table at the office. Work is always better with treats!
2. Receiving 'Daylily Dollars' to spend at the 2017 Daylily Society Sale. Daylily dollars look like Monopoly money, only with daylilies on it. Believe me, it's much more fun to buy daylilies than a plastic hotel for Park Avenue.
   
3. Putting my coat on and finding $5 in the pocket that I forgot all about.
4. Getting all psyched-up to get a cracked molar drilled for a crown and finding out, after the drilling started, that it was only a surface crack that  a 15-minute filling would remedy just fine. Can it get better than this?
5. Finding out that my 7-year-old granddaughter got caught by her Dad asking 'Alexa' for all the answers while doing Math homework. There's nothing wrong with her problem-solving skills! Where was Alexa when I had Math homework?
6. Hearing my 3-year-old grandson say "I help!" And smiling, knowing full-well what that really means...
7. Playing Rummy Royal with friends and laughing so hard that we cry -- the 'duh' moments seem to be increasing.
8. Being asked for the thousandth time if my dear friend Sandy and I are sisters. The best one happened a few weeks ago when Sandy and I were together with Susie, her actual sister. Susie was told  "No, you can't possibly be her sister -- she is!" (as the person pointed to me). This has occurred constantly over the years. May the years continue.
9. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, TACOS, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
10. And finally, Ange; he always keeps me smiling in a sometimes non-smiling world.
    
    

And how about your ten moments? What are you grateful for?

Pictured: My fashionista-granddaughter's feet/shoes. She can 'up-style' absolutely anything!

This gorgeous daylily is a source of frustration for me. 'Tom Leonard' is a dormant tetraploid so, by all rights, he *should* grow well in Wisconsin, but for some reason he has stalled. I have had him since 2013 and to date he has only increased from two to five fans. He looks very healthy and blooms every year, yet just doesn't thrive. Tom Leonard is on his third location change in my garden, and I'm at the crossroads of "I'll keep my fingers crossed," and "You are outta here!" I have given this plant way more leeway than usual because I love sculpted daylilies. The blooms are an impressive 7" in size, and the brilliant yellow/gold glows brightly in the garden. I also love the fringy look of the petals. Plus, Tom is a late-bloomer, and that is also desirable. So I do have many reasons to keep hoping he will come around! Tom Leonard was purchased from a reliable source so I know for sure he's a division, not a tissue-cultured plant.

Have you ever had a plant that just wouldn't perform? For the life of me, I can't figure out what more I can do to help him along. This is a problem I don't often have with daylilies. So I'm on the fence about this daylily...I will be patient and see what happens in 2018 but reluctantly, an adoption may be in this guy's future.

Today I'm sharing photos of my friend Donna's 'Friendship Garden.' What makes this garden extra special is that every plant has either been shared or gifted by a friend. And as you can see by the photos -- she has many friends!

Donna's garden has evolved and grown quite a bit since I have known her. After a busy day she enjoys relaxing on the deck and loves the tranquility that her garden provides. The flowers are a reminder that her friends are always with her.  Donna told me that her husband  appreciates the flower garden as well; not only is it pretty, but there's less grass for him to mow!