Boy Oh Boy!

This morning my alarm went off at 5:15 am.  

I made scones for breakfast at 6:15.

My knitting and camera were packed.

We were on the road at 6:40, going to Omaha so Lynette could catch the first leg of her flight to Ireland at 11:20.  She met the Troyers in Chicago.  

We parked in the parking garage, stayed in the terminal until her plane left, and 

THEN, I remembered I wanted to take a photo before she left.  My camera was still in the car anyway.  Sigh.

At this typing moment she is over the Atlantic Ocean.

On another note:

I have three grandsons.

Here's one.

And another...

I don't know how well this cool toy shows up, it's a balancing game.

And another..

A real fish

My daughter is one of three roomies.  

I saw a recipe in the magazine that comes with our newspaper.  I didn't save the recipe, but it was easy enough for my head to remember.

Just in time for the 4th. 

The firecrackers are candy coated marshmallows.  If you use a skewer to dip them, there is a hole to stick in the licorice.

Chomp, chomp, chomp

 Yum.

I like these people.

Summer Time

The problem with weeks is they soon turn into months.  And those months will soon turn into half a year gone.  Yesterday was the first day of summer.  I happened to hear that sunrise was 6:05 am and sunset at 9:11 pm. The longest daylight hours of the year.  

Tonight Jim and Lynette went out to supper for a daughter/daddy date and I was going to start blogging but I needed to finish the last little bit of the skein of yarn I was working on, then I had to eat my own supper, and write an email to my siblings.  So, Jim was home and mowing while I was editing these few photographs and now I will blog.  

I have been agonizing for a year over this quilt all over my table.  The blocks weren't put together very well and I repaired some of them, sandwiched the quilt and started quilting.  I have one block done and I need to figure out what pattern to put in the blank spaces.   I got the quilt top from my grandma's things after she died, but I don't think she put it together.  I first saw it when I was a teenager and she was a better seamstress than this quilt top would suggest.  The blocks are old fabric, the setting is new (new being over 30 years old). I wish I knew who sewed it together.  

I can't help posting another photo of this funny little plant.  I know I have one in last week's blog, but it is still blooming like crazy with a bunch of new blooms. 

We went to my folks over the weekend.  It was Father's Day and the most convenient weekend to visit, so we went.  Mom made banana splits for our Sunday dinner dessert.  Yum.  

My mom has been growing blueberries.  They have taken a lot of care and soil managing.  This is the first year she is getting a harvest. The amount of care they take is part of the reason

the plants I had died.  

That, and forgetfulness, and because I bought them BC*.

I found this in a Reader's Digest.  I think I read it before, and perhaps even put it in a blog post.  A cursory search revealed no current blog post so here it is, if it is again, I make no apology.

It expresses my feelings exactly about books. 

*BC=Before Cancer

Someone else's Sunbonnet Sue.  I was interested in the similar setting and colors to mine.

Flag Day

Today is Flag Day. So I went and took a picture of flag flying in the wind.  

This is MY Country's flag. 

 Eighty-five years ago my grandparents were married on this day.  

Today is also Blog Day.  I was going to blog earlier but I was winding some yarn into a ball to finish my latest project.  I am almost done and since I'm using two strands of yarn I had the not-so-bright idea to wind a two strand ball with both ends of the skein at the same time.  

I should have known better.  I've tried this before.  If I would be careful when I do this it might work.  What I ended up with was a gargantuan (I love that word) pile of tangled yarn,  Just imagine taking an entire skein of yarn apart, piling it on the floor and tossing it around with your hands a few times and then try to wind it up again.  I spent an hour untangling my mess.  I wonder if I've learned anything.  I DID NOT take any photos.  

Anyway, about the rest of the week. I had the boys for a while one day while my daughter went to look for a new vehicle.  I don't know what prompted us to go outside and pick flowers,....oh yes, someone found scissors.  So, three boys, armed and ready, and I went outside to look at the flowers.  I, as always, said, "You can pick all the flowers you want, just get a long stem."  They followed my orders so well that we floated all the blossoms in the water, since nothing had a stem longer than an inch.  I wonder what they think a short stem would be. 

They wanted to pick a hollyhock blossom, but couldn't figure out how to get a stem, so we made a hollyhock lady. Zane was the only one interested since toothpicks were involved.  

The sun came up this week.  When I look through the pine trees on the north edge of our property, I see the sun as a glowing ball.  The camera doesn't.

I like to watch it's progression from the very north to the very south.  

This is the new vehicle.  It looks like a van to me, but it's a crossover.  I think they need a better name for it. 

We have a bird feeder hanging from the ash tree in the front of the house.  It is supposed to attract interesting birds.  I suppose if we bought interesting bird seed that might work.  The corn we use attracts grackles, house sparrows, and squirrels. There was a red-headed woodpecker there the other day, but he doesn't use the feeder.  

This little squirrel has a bad leg.  Jim was feeling sorry for it so he built this nice little shelf for him to sit on and eat his corn.   The birds use it too. 

We were all set on Saturday to have a good couple hours work on our flower garden reconstruction project.  About a half-hour in, Jim's back 'went out', or whatever it is when that particular muscle spasms, and hurts so bad he can't do anything except eat pain killer and use an ice pack.  It has happened on and off over the years, and we really don't know what causes it.  I can feel a little lump at the spot, and it's not getting any better.  I suppose sometime this week we'll find ourselves adorning the waiting room in our doctor's office. 

Smooth Move

 My first thought in starting this post was, "this was an ordinary week". I think that thought (ha)

was brought to mind because yesterday at knitting group someone asked how I was doing and when I took a little time to think about it, I thought a bit on how much I did last week, I realized I felt good.  

I have been good this last while.  It helps that I haven't had any surgery for months.  

I know that whole first bit doesn't make much sense.  That is what I thought without thinking. 

I did have a busy week, but I didn't accomplish very much.  My daughter is plagued with a van that for entertainment breaks down every week and since a blog week actually spans both sides of a weekend.  I had to rescue her twice.  We are of the opinion that it would be better to push it over a cliff.  

We also worked on another section of the flower garden restructuring project we are doing and went to a wedding reception.  In between these bursts of activity it was an ordinary week.  

I really should get some photos of that flower garden.

I love this little plant.  I'm taking photos again because it's blooming again.  Usually it blooms two little blossoms and then nothing for a long time.  This time there are more coming.  I love this little plant because my son gave it to me and because I've managed to keep it alive for over a year.  It needs very little water so I have to be careful not to over water.  

I'm seeing a lot more of Zane since school is out.  And a lot more of all them because of the van issues.  We made s'mores at our house with chocolate frosting and microwaved marshmallows, but these boys got to make real ones at home.  

I like daisies. 

I've been making smoothies for snacks.  No one else around here will drink mine because they have spinach in them.  I've been using different frozen fruits.  I have no opinion on the taste because all I get is the thick and cold feeling and that's good enough for me. 

Apple 

Strawberry 

Nectarine

Blueberry

Picnic at the Farm--A Story in Pictures

Jim was raised as a farm kid.  On this farm to be exact.  Jim's dad sold it in 1980 when he retired, but got it back later in the '80s when so many farmers suffered in an economic downturn and some lost their land.  It has been rented to the same people ever since.  

We could sell it, the renters want to buy it, but I feel rather rich to own land.  It harks back to how our country was developed, by people who went out to farm the land.  

Over the years Jim and I have come out together and with the kids to get wood.  Nathan had an airsoft gun/birthday party out here.  It's a good place for target practice, four-wheeling and adventuring.

It's a good place for remembering, too.  The house has been moved into town, and we hope to use it oftener as a picnic ground.

There are two ways to come into this place.  Coming in on the north side we have to be more careful after the corn is planted.  That way also fords a creek so we can't go that way in very wet weather.

The south side means travelling 3/4 mile over hilly pasture land to the creek, full cow trails to bump over.

We set up camp under a tree down in a little valley next to the creek and started a fire for our hamburger and brat supper.  We were going to have hot dogs too, but I forgot them.

We brought a little civilization along with us. 

As everybody knows (or should know) the fire has to die down to coals before we can cook anything on it so we had play time and snack time first.

Potato chips.

Watermelon. 

More watermelon. 

Roasted marshmallows.

And butterfinger bars. 

My kids ate so many of those growing up, and now the next generation is enjoying them, too. 

Zane thought the whole place was great for adventuring.  As long as he kept in shouting distance, we let him go.  

Making marshmallow sticks 

Four Wheeling

Eventually we ate...

The men (and some of the women) shot at targets and pop cans.

...And then we gathered around the fire to wait for the storm to come. 

Too bad we couldn't get both smiles on one photo.

Dreaming of someday.

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