Hey y'all!! Oh, I'm just feeling so "southern" now that the real southern ladies have been educating me! LOL! I think the 90 degree heat with 60% humidity is helping that southern feeling along a bit too!
So the energy is a little lacking this week. Last week I stormed into vacation like a trooper, cleaning, baking, sewing, organizing. Then soccer weekend hit, that combined with hay cutting has me slowed up a bit. It was a great weekend. G-Man won his baseball championship-I think he slept with his trophy! Then he played 3 soccer games over Saturday and Sunday. My DD played 4 soccer games with the U15 girls. They won the championship in a sudden death shoot-out in game #4 Sunday afternoon. What a nail-biter! (MY daughter is the goalie? She hasn't been in goal for two years!!! OH be still my heart!) She did great though and they came home with trophies.
I started noticing achy headaches by the end of the day and thought is was just the business of the weekend. By Monday is just about to migraine stage. I stopped and looked around, yup they're cutting hay. I don't get a stuffy nose or even sneezing, I get these stupid headaches and a plugged left ear that just aches. So, I've taking it a bit easier Monday and Tuesday. Kind of. Monday afternoon we had 4H at my friend's house (she has central air and a pool!). Three hours of putting quilts together with the girls! They are really doing well, they are just about all to the point of putting them together and turning them. It just takes more time than I thought because I have to help each girl individually. Yesterday, I planted some hostas that my neighbor gave me. I did that early in the morning, but the humidity was still so high I had to take another shower!
Despite lack of rain, my perennial garden is looking nice. Lots of lillies getting ready to bloom. Most of them are from one bulb my mom bought me almost 10 years ago. I am so glad I was smart enough to bring it from our old place. My yellow lupine is getting ready to bloom again, and the corabelles are scattered all over. I also have a Japanese Iris that finally bloomed. It was the third summer and I was getting discouraged with it. I'm taking lots of pictures....:(
The veggie garden is coming along too. There are blooms on my tomatoes! Out of 12 cucumber plants I have 2 left, they just disappeared! Those along with my oregano, and 3 out of 4 watermelon plants. I thought for sure if something came and ate them, the whole garden would be wiped out, but the garden hasn't been bothered since.
I have a quilt to finish for the baby shower this weekend. I started machine quilting, but it's puckering on the back. I had it pinned so well, I thought, and it was small enough to do on the machine, I thought!!! I think I'll start over, so that means I'll be handstitching the binding minutes before the shower starts on Saturday!!!
Well, I hope all you lovely ladies are enjoying nice weather and many blessings! Don't forget to say hi!

The Sweet Summer Time

I really thought I had my photo problem solved, and I did, when I had mom's camera to use! But my camera just will not upload to the computer any more, and DD's camera only gets so far then stops. Yes, I have fresh batteries! I just hate blogging without pictures!

I just LOVE summer. The air is so sweet, the sky is so blue!! Trust me, I'm not working to hard. It's just so nice to take care of my home when I'm not exhausted from taking care of 4oo kids at school! I've done a bit of gardening, but Tina, I don't know if I could face all that mulch you said you bought! I've come to the sudden realization that NEXT Saturday is the 30th and that is the date of my girlfriend's baby shower, so I am frantically finishing projects for her. Monday we are having a 4H project/swim meeting. I am praying I can get those girls to finish their quilts before the jump in the pool!!
This weekend? Oh, well, it's soccer tournament weekend. 4 games each times two kids!! (plus DS's baseball championship game in there sometime!) The weather looks wonderful though, and I know a few years down the road they'll be grown. :(

I've been tagged again...by Miss Tina at http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/ to make a list of things that remind me of the south. Well, I'm a Yankee/southern girl wanna be, so bear with me!! I claim my grandparent's Kentucky blood all the way, but I just may embarrass myself here!!

• sweet tea
• NASCAR (old school!!)
• Gone With the Wind
• greens
• Lynard Skynard
• manners/genteel/ladies
• verandas
• Spanish moss
• custard
• banana pudding

Ok, I'll stop there and put you all out of your misery! Whom shall I tag? Let's go to the West Coast and tag Miss Tracey @ http://carpentercreek.wordpress.com/

And Miss Penny @ http://littlepenpen.blogspot.com/

And last but never least, Melody @ http://melziesmonologue.blogspot.com/

Blessings Y'all!

Catchin' Up, Again!

Day 3...I have mopped, dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed, laundered and weeded. The house is almost presentable!! I am no neat freak, but when the mood strikes, the time is right and the stars are aligned, I can really clean! LOL! I've been hanging pictures and curtains and rearranging shelves. I had to go out and weed the veggie garden this morning, about half done on that.

I sorted through my sewing area yesterday. I got a bit too cluttered the last month after two different ladies donated much fabric to my cause; whatever that may be! I sorted out anything I can't use for quilting or bags and put it into a box. Not getting rid of it yet, I have a girlfriend who LOVES making clothes and thinks she wants to teach me to do the same! I am now back at the place where I can finish up projects and whatnot. I am finishing gifts for my girlfriend's baby. I'm on quilt #2, embroidering 12 fishing boy squares that will make a quilt. I want to make a few more bibs, also.

I think I mentioned moving friend gave me more books. I finished Widow of the South, which I really enjoyed. Now I am reading Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor. That was in the second batch of books which included:

• Around the U.S.A. in 1,000 Pictures copyright 1955 (adorable pictures)
• California Gold by John Jakes
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (no date found, but it's old and gorgeous!)
• Livingston's Travels & Explorations of South Africa (copyright 1874 Breathtaking cover!)
• A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins (true story that covers this man's walk from Alfred University in NYS to New Orleans 1973-1975)
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (I've never read it!)

I've never read or even listened to Garrison Keillor before so I skipped ahead to that book passing up others on my list. Funny last summer I read one LONG book, Gone with the Wind, that if you haven't read it's worth EVERY page. But this year I have a stack I'd like to read. We'll see how far I get. It's not a race, just seem to be finding a lot more that interests me lately!

Well I'll close with another recipe that I'd like to share. I am going to make it myself today for the first time, but I have had them often in my girlfriend's kitchen or camping with her family.

Kathy's Jumbo Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 Cups of sugar

1/2 Cup margarine or butter, softened

1/ cup peanut butter

1/4 cup water

1 TBSP vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups of flour or wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats

1 cups raisins and/or chocolate chips

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 cups cheerios cereal (Kashi makes an AWESOME "o" cereal)

heat oven 375 degrees

stir together sugar, margarine, peanut butter, water vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients

drop dough by round 1/3 cupfuls, 4 inches apart, onto ungreased large cookie sheet. flatten dough to about 1 inch thick

bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. let stand 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. store loosely covered.

Enjoy!

Vacation and Tags

Ahhhh....did you hear that sigh?? It was utter and contented relief. I know, I know. Most adults have year round full-time jobs and you do not want to hear about my SUMMER VACATION. But I will say this once, it's here!!! Oh happy dance! The last two days of work were tough and I was literally sore from scrubbing and lifting and so on and so forth. I did not get sympathy from DH as he works in a factory and does physical labor year round!! I'll have to remember to be more sympathetic to him though... I hate that physical stuff. (unless it's for gardening purposes!)

So what am I doing this first find day of vacation? Hehe...I shipped my kids off to school!!! Yes! They have 3 more days of tests. Oh, I do love them home, I just get a kick out of their pouty little teenage faces heading off to school while I was still in my jammies!!

Next I spent some extended time in my Bible and talking to God. Totally refreshing.

And after I leave here, it's cleaning time. Kinda like spring cleaning, but I guess we will call it my summer vacation cleaning. Time to declutter, put the things away that have been misplaced, do the walls the windows and the nooks and crannies. Once that is done I can lose myself in my books and sewing. I have a goal to finish started projects (ie. log cabin quilt and sampler quilt) and do projects that will use up my stash. I got even more books from my friend that is moving. Her sale went really well, but she still had some books and told me to go through them again for FREE. I 'll save the titles for another day.

Ok, last but not least, I've been tagged, by a new friend. I love making new blogging friends and I'm sure you all do too. So, if you haven't before please visit Miss Annee at http://sweetannee.blogspot.com/. She tagged me for What's For Dinner?

well, that's kinda funny 'cause I have no clue!! LOL! The last couple weeks of school turn into "quick through something on the grill and make a salad" nights because I'm usually bone tired and we are half out the door with one sport of the other. After about a week of vacation, I get creative again. So let's see here, what would I make? Oh, I know we all like this one:

Chicken Mediterranean

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1C chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1Tbsp olive oil

1 Can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes w/ burgandy wine & olive oil(Contadina)

1 Can (6oz) tomatoe paste w/ roasted garlic

1Cup quartered artichoke hearts

1/2 Cup sliced ripe olives

Cook chicken, onion and garlic in oil in large skillet over med-high heat, 5 minutes. Season w/ salt and pepper if desired.

Combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste plus 3/4 Cup water. Add tomato mixture, artichoke hearts and olives to skillet.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Serve over rice if desired.

Mmm...sounds good! Probably be for supper next week!!

I'll tag Sue @ http://countrypleasures.blogspot.com/

Jenny @ http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/

and, RoseMary @http://lifeinacordwoodcabin.blogspot.com/index.html

Now, on to housework!!

The Countdown

Yes, I am counting down to summer vacation!! Two more days! I have been in the elementary school since last Friday. Friday was a scheduled day off for the manager, so I filled in. Monday she came to work, but her DH who also works at school said he didn't feel well and he wanted to get to the doctor. He ended up having angioplasty and a stint put into to an artery that had 90% blockage. Thank GOD, he paid attention to how he was feeling. We are praying for a speedy recovery and no more problems.

Last night I went to a 4H leaders meeting to explain the process of entering items in the fair. There are two fairs here we can enter, but I will only be home for one. That one is in my hometown so that is nice. Alot of paper work to do, but really not as bad as they apologize for! I think it gets a little more involved if you are bringing animals, but we are not. We are entering our pillow covers and quilts. My son is going to grow some vegetables to enter. He wanted to bake also, but you can not enter baked goods unless you do a cooking/baking unit with the 4Hers. I told him that it is a definite for next year. We just didn't have time this year because we had a late start. It really sounds like it is going to be a fun experience for the kids.

Yup, two more days! It's really not sinking in. I'm pretty much bone tired right now. So much to do at work these two days, cleaning, packing up, up and down stairs... hopefully I'll get a good work out! The kids are already asking for friends over and "will you take me here, or there". They are not even done with their tests yet! I told them there is no running around until mom is totally off of work and tests are over!

On top of my to-do list (besides a MAJOR house cleaning!) is to get this camera situation worked out! I have quilts to show, and the garden just changes every day! I tried using DD's camera and it didn't upload for me. I must be tired and doing something wrong!

On that note, let me end with this stupid, TRUE story! I was at work by 7:00am yesterday, filling in for the manager like I mentioned earlier. Had a few sips of my coffee, but apparently didn't have quite enough caffeine pumping through me yet! I needed to call my supervisor at the high school. For seven years I have done this, simply dial the extension, 1166. I seemed to have dialed the 9 to reach an outside line first though. So who did I reach?

Oh, yeah, you guessed it!

I called "911"!!!

Can you believe that? I was good, I said, "uh (brilliant!), I made a mistake!" The woman on the other end was pleasant and said, "ok, no problem!" I hung up and waited to be surrounded by our local police and fire department. Don't they live for stuff like this? But thankfully nothing happened until an hour later when our business office secretary arrived to work. Her computer system/phone tells her anytime 911 is called out of the district and where it comes from. Nice safety feature! We explained to her that it was just a mistake. I had to take the money to her at the end of the day and she said you just would not believe how many people do that and a lot of time just hang up (even the teachers!) so then she gets a call from the police department.

Still couldn't believe I did it!!!

~Blessings

I'm Bushed!

Busy weekend, but it was oh so beautiful!

• Saturday started with G-Man's baseball game, then a quick peruse of the community yard sales. They were pretty few and far between this year. G-Man made out the best I think with a board game and a John Deere hoodie for $2. I spent $1.85 and came away with some fabric, an oblong crocheted doily, a set of embroidered hankies and a wax envelope sealing kit (like colonial days). We had a going away party to head to in the afternoon. Friends of our are moving to Austin, TX in two weeks. Kelly is pretty crafty let me tell you! She fed us, got us comfortable in the beautiful spring air, then said, "Want a sneak preview of our garage sale?" Well, YEAH!!! Into the barn we headed, I was in bibliophile heaven as I looked upon shelf upon shelf of categorized books!!!! Hundreds of them ALL sorted by genre! So....for another $6.95 I have my summer reading all set before me! Here are the goodies I found:
• Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder; The Woman Behind the Legend
• The Cowboys (Yes! ANOTHER John Wayne movie)
• Pioneer Women; Voices from the Kansas Frontier
• The Yearling (hardcover school book copy From Studebaker Elem in Des Moines, IA)
• Riders of the Purple Sage (I think I'm starting a Zane Grey collection?)
• Peter Stuyvesant; Makers of America (1893 edition)
• The Blue and the Gray
• The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen Ambrose

My girlfriends were laughing hysterically as with each book I would inhale sharply and just be filled with giddiness! That's ok girls, I know most women don't have the same taste in books as I do! The top three are definite reads this summer. Right now I am reading Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. It's a really good read, very sombre and probably quite realistic for some tastes, but knowing it's based on a true story has kept me glued to it.

Well, besides picnicking and shopping, I also made a quilt top this weekend. A very small quilt, I think it is 40 x 40. I while back I showed you all some cute kids outdoorsy fabrics I bought. They were intended for my friends baby shower and this week I knew I had to get going as her shower is June 30th. I found a pattern I liked in Small Quilts magazine and got going. I am amazed at how quickly it all came together. And I loved how it turned out! I have pictures right here, but unfortunately I am back to using my and my daughters cameras and I can't get either one of them to upload pictures!! I work on that later!

Speaking of work, it's about time to get ready! Just this week...hopefully. Some of the ladies want to stretch the clean-up into next week. I will try hard to go with the flow, and pray!

~Blessings!

Yes, another Iris! I really do love them! This one is in a shade garden I'm trying to grow up along this "lovely" fence. The neighbor one side grows a beautiful flower garden to separate the yards, the neighbor on the other uses this fence. It's all good though, we are all happy neighbors as far as I know, and I am not going out of the house & yard beautiful award. I garden, I don't landscape. If I start worrying and planning and wondering what other people see I get stressed and that is not why I garden. I garden because I love flowers and growing things. I love sitting out in my yard on a warm night and smelling the scent of the blooms. It brings me joy.

I wish I could always treat the rest of life the way I treat my gardening! As I sit here and write I am ashamed to realize what a snit I've gotten myself into the last week. Not that it has come as a shock to me, I have come home from work each day knowing I have not been the godly woman I should have, asking God to forgive and the next day starting all over again. It's easy to be that Titus 2 woman, meek and mild; generous and kind, when everyone is kind to you. But when a co-worker cuts you down it gets a little tougher. And when you try to forgive that situation, but new junk keeps coming up, it seems that walking around with an attitude is a whole lot easier than letting it all go. See where I've been the last week? Yuck. And it has made me feel physically yucky too.

I read Titus 2 and Hebrews 11 this morning. I have a ways to go to be an example of Christ. I have seemed to let a lot go. That's hard to swallow but it true. It's easy to say I do this, that, and the other "for God", but if I can't go to work and be a witness, there is something big missing. When I care more about what others think and say about me, than what God sees me up to, something big is missing.

I am glad He cares enough to show me my weaknesses, so I can allow Him to change me. I thank Him everyday that He cares for me!

~Blessings

10 MORE DAYS

Yes, I'm a little excited. I have 10 more days left at work, then I am on summer vacation. I try to be mature about the whole thing. I want my kids to have a good work ethic, respect (at the least) their jobs and not live for vacations. But when it gets this close, and the gardens are calling, the birds are singing, and the sewing projects are piling up, it gets pretty hard not to walk around with a big smirk on my face! My husband having off all last week while I had to go to work didn't even make me pout!!

I put in the veggie garden Saturday. I hope the are all right. It was pretty hot, and although I watered right away, and then late in the evening, the plants look pretty droopy Sunday. Droopy may not even be the right word, flat on the ground better describes it! The last 12 hours we have had a nice soaking rain so I hope everything is doing a little better. I tried to plant a little more conservatively this year. Being a new veggie gardener I have enjoyed planting everything I can find. It just seems so fun. Unfortunately, my family won't eat some of it, so I tried really hard to stick to the basics. I went to a different garden center this year and it was just AMAZING! I only spent $23 by the grace of God, because I tell you I wanted everything there. They had a great selection of perennials and bushes and I was picturing all sorts of crazy things. But I stuck to my budget like a good non-working summer girl! I ended up planting tomatoes, 2 kinds of cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins (a request from G-Man) potatoes (from my grandma), seems like I'm missing something, but I can't picture anything else. I did plant some herbs also, oregano, rosemary and basil. Any harvesting and using advice is welcomed!!

Oh, I did buy ONE flower. They had hollyhocks, and this farmgirl has been moaning for hollyhocks for 3 years now! I tried to grow some babies from mom's and I think they did bloom the first year, but didn't come back last year. So I bought just one...and even put it safely in the middle of my flower bed. I'd like it on my fence row, but I like the grapes over there and there is not room for both. So I hope this honey grows.

Honey! I bought honey too!!!! LOL! I heard that a teaspoon of local honey a day helps with outdoor allergies. Makes sense to me, it's the same premise as the allergy shots my dd had for years. So, I've got us all on a teaspoon of honey a day.

I'll show some pictures of my flower bed. It hasn't been mulched yet, and it was bone dry when the pictures were taken, but you'll get the general idea. This bed was not "planned" at all. I am a random gardener. I love plants and color, but I can not stick to one theme. I love it all. When I moved in the area had a few tulips, so it was the spot that turned into my garden. The lilies came with me from my old place. It was one sickly end of season left over about 10 years ago, and now I have about 7 of them, and I've given some away. The big group of irises were ones I found scattered around the yard, I had to save them from my lawn mowin' man! The yellow and light purple irises are from my mother, and before her my great grandmother.

Phew! The grass is looking pretty rough around there isn't it?

Soon there will be daisys, black eyed susans and beebalm to fill in a bit more.

And my sunny little poppies!

Have a lovely day all! Thanks for visiting!