A Rural Girl's Ramblings

Camera Clips ...

2010-08-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

Chewy, what you dewy?

[glaring at me, not happy to be tied out and kept from trouble ... he bounced around the yard, bellowing all day long]

Belle - aka "Bits", ruling the arena from her "throne"

[the ~~straw~~ spool that broke the ~~camel's~~ hubby's back in hoisting it up over the fence for her - Wife says: "Here, let me help" ... Hubby says: "No, I've got it" ... Okay then, "Hercules"]

Pickled Peppers Picked ...

2010-08-13T11:21:00.005-04:00

Cukes bathing in brine

[and yes, you better believe I saved such big jars from long ago when I worked in a mom-n-pop convenience store - they formerly held some really Retro Candy]

Like Fine Wine ...

2010-08-13T10:17:00.001-04:00

I'm officially "vintage". That doesn't mean I've become an "antique" ... yet. According to Wikipedia, anything produced before the 1920's is considered antique and anything that came between then and the 80s is deemed vintage. I fall within the "flower power" era... so that might explain some of my eccentricity [Eccentricity is often associated with genius, intellectual giftedness, or creativity. The individual's eccentric behavior is perceived to be the outward expression of his or her unique intelligence or creative impulse, In this vein, the eccentric's habits are incomprehensible not because they are illogical or the result of madness, but because they stem from a mind so original that it cannot be conformed to societal norms] Nice "save of face", 'eh? And let me say I absolutely adore this dress! So vogue! It. Is. So 70s!!! [remember the "maxi"?] This comes from my sister-in-law's Etsy shop: WildAboutVintage, where you can find an array of items from other eras as well.

Vintage: Characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal; classic.

Getting The Boot ...

2010-08-12T21:45:00.003-04:00

Hubby's work boots ... and I probably don't need to say a whole lot more about them.

The plaid pack "inserts" are filled with odor-control kitty litter spritzed with tea tree oil to kill whatever tries to come through the door! Then, I'd like to bury them in the backyard!

Skirting The Issue ...

2010-08-12T21:41:00.001-04:00

It's been hot. It's been humid. Everything's been in a haze ... and I've been in high cotton, by way of the cloth. Here we have a hand-me-down "broom skirt" [so called - because you can sweep the floor wearing one? ... one wide swoop and you're done!] - it started out as a size small but somehow grew to a size extra-large [and don't look at me, I'm not responsible for the s-t-r-e-t-c-h]! I thought perhaps I could take it in ... fashion it down a few notches to fit my form. I love the way the fabric feels ... sort of "gauzy", but I didn't want it to end up gawdy and there was a lot of material for me to get lost in. A cool skirt for a hot summer, to be sure! And I love the instructions noted on the label under "machine wash": Hold both ends. Twist tightly and knot [no kidding??]. Leave until dry. No hanger needed - just a crumpled heap and there you have it [if only they made men's wear this way ... for he who knows no hanger]! I was just going to ditch the effort and donate it with other items to Goodwill and get on with things of a more pressing matter [a lot to iron out in life aside from clothing] ...

Instead, I picked up some scissors and discovered there was more I could do with this skirt ... and still enough material left over to do sew much more, so the remainder went into my scrap bag for quilting! An afternoon and an outfit later ....
[*rough cut, not complete]

Paper or Plastic Ma'am?

2010-08-08T22:21:00.000-04:00

I cleaned up the laundry room the other day [once a month I actually clean the washer & dryer, inside and out, along with clearing out a lot of accumulated clutter that happens to hide in the cubby closet and collect on the shelves above them so that I can store all that laundry soap], and I came across a container that I'd been keeping all those plastic colored grocery bags in ... who needs that many bags?! [jar junkie, can collector ... and bag lady!] Apparently, I thought I'd use them someday ... for something. And today I did - I'm cutting them up and making "plarn" [2-ply plastic yarn] and turning them into rag rugs to put on the porches - this will be a round rug and the yellow off in the corner will be a square rug. Spray & wash ... drip & dry. Quick-n-easy and doesn't cost a cent!

Wreck Of Rows ...

2010-08-04T21:15:00.001-04:00

A midday mess among the maize ...

A thunderstorm let loose with torrential rain this afternoon, nearly taking out the corn! Tiring attempts were made to stand the stalks up again in the mud. I hope they fare better than I did with all that bending over! Some sunshine should give them the gumption to get off the ground and go on. God save the sweet corn!!!

Coming Clean ....

2010-08-04T11:57:00.001-04:00

In line with the laundry [pun intended], we can't have clean unless we have soap! As many of you know, I've made my own bar soaps [for bathing] for many years now. I also use that same soap to make laundry soap as well ... and well it works! Few ingredients and it goes far ... a little time and a lot of savings!

Here, I've melted down a couple of bars that have been shredded and covered with water, with other [above] ingredients stirred in. *I used to be able to buy washing soda by the box from the grocery store [Food-4-Less, Save-A-Lot ... those types], but lately, as has happened with the Red Devil® lye used in making bar soap, because of it being used in meth labs and therefore no longer found on the shelves unless you go searching for someone who still carries it, the washing soda has all but disappeared ... each & every time I've asked about it, they're clueless as to what it even is and direct me to baking soda - all but one elderly gentleman remembered it from being used "back in the day" *sigh* .... but I've found it at places that sell pool supplies as a pH leveler!

With the addition of more water to the mix, it all goes into these big buckets by the gallon [that hubby is able to get from the bakery for free]. It's stirred and left to set overnight.

I then bottle it up ... and as you can see, it fills many bottles & jugs and lasts for a very long time! A quick shake and just a small cupful ... into the washer ... and all comes clean! There are many "recipes" for homemade laundry soap out there, which vary, and most any will do the dirty job!

*note - I'm a Gain® Girl ... [I love the smell!] it's my one indulgence, so a dollop of Gain® does go in ... it's the scent that makes my husband swoon, or perhaps that's just from being in a hot bakery! [I also use it as a freshener for upholstered furniture, much like Febreze®]

Airing Dirty Laundry ...

2010-08-04T11:47:00.001-04:00

[of a different sort]

I love hanging my laundry out on the line to dry [and what true country girl doesn't have a T-bar clothesline and a bleach bottle full of wooden pins???] ... today was bed-n-bath out of the basket: sheets, pillowcases, towels... a couple of chair cushions and a little lap quilt to get laundry day underway, with several more loads to follow. Hot & humid, but just enough breeze blowing to get things billowing a bit, making it bearable for me to trek back & forth by the basketful. Nothing like sleeping on clean, crisp sheets kissed by some country air ... and on muggy nights that make sleeping miserable, I like to turn down the bedding to bare sheets about an hour before bedtime, set the fan in the window and let it sing its lullaby, and then say goodnight on the cool comfort of cotton/percale [a spritz of lavender and it's sweet dreams]!

Like doing dishes, it seems I'm always doing laundry, day in and day out ... and pardon me as I whistle while I work: Praise Him! Praise Him! .... praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the noontime ... Praise Him! Praise Him! ... praise Him when the sun goes downnnnn [a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get through a day of doing dirty laundry don't ya know!]. As a matter of fact, my dear husband delights in letting me know that laundry day is a reminder of why he loves me so ... not so much for keeping his clothes clean, but that the smell makes him swoon evidently! [yep, you become quite "corny" living in the country ... sometimes I just can't believe what my ears hear!]

Backyard Believers ...

2010-08-04T10:57:00.002-04:00

Being that my blog has been for the birds ...

Here's the church and here's the steeple

Open the doors and see all the ...

Peep-ole!

Yes, even birds flock to Sunday morning service to hear some preaching as they perch!

My brother, down in the "Bible Belt" buckle of Atlanta, GA, builds these beautiful one-of-a-kind, handcrafted birdhouses. He's now selling them in his Etsy shop [see for selection available at this time]: BirdhousesbyJohn, and I believe everyone should buy one! He also accepts custom orders and can create your own special one-of-a-kind replication of your house, home church, barn, or business by request [and by photo, of course]! ... I can hear the choir chirpin', can you?

Bird Day Today ...

2010-07-30T15:03:00.000-04:00

Remember the little bird's nest I found on the ground [empty but full of ideas]? Well, it inspired me to make my mom a bird's nest birthday present! ... a bit of sewing, weaving, gluing, nailing, and spray painting ... wicker, grapevine, unraveled jute twine, raffia, artificial sunflowers with fabric-covered centers, intertwined with some vine, cut aluminum cans, one of the many, many broken branches I've picked up and piled and some moss [hubby chiseled the bottom of the branch so that it could be staked into the ground and set upright, not leaning like it is]

That's a bag full of birdseed ... and a butterfly fluttering on the edge of the basket

And a birthday card & matching envy, made by me

Happy Birthday Mom!

Road Rage ...

2010-07-30T14:13:00.000-04:00

Woken up this morning by machinery ... the township maintenance crew ripping up the road! [heard the beep, beep, beep of equipment backing up ... right into our drive]

Several dump trucks soon followed

As you can see, we're back to that ol' dirt road again

[but a bit wider!]

And here we have big mounds of fill dirt hubby had them dump in the yard

They'll be back sometime next month, after the dust settles [on everything in the house!], to spread chip-n-seal [the best deal going out here these days]. No complaint made to the road dept ... just called it a "cow path" - maybe they "herd"?

Everything's Coming Up Daisies ...

2010-07-28T17:51:00.000-04:00

Sunflowers maybe??? ... I'm not sure what these are, other than wildweeds dug up from the wayside [too tall for daisies, too small for sunflowers]! Hubby happened to see them and brought them home one day - planted them by the post that marks the property line, amid the pines out front a few years ago. "Bankside Bloomers" they be! You thought I was kidding about the one-lane road we live on [looks like a cow path, doesn't it?] - not such rough riding anymore since they tossed on some tar to try to keep down the dust [which doesn't do the trick]!

Pop A Top ...

2010-07-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

My "seed starters" [self-watering] - Mt. Dew plastic pop bottles
Did I mention I'm a "dumpster diver" too?

[in a wonderful wicker 12-compartment tray found years ago on Ebay, formerly used to store my handcrafted soaps ... now holding my future apple orchard!]

cut bottle in half

flip top upside down to set inside bottom and fill with potting soil

poke small holes around neck of bottle [breathers]

cut a watering window in side of bottom of bottle [reservoir]

Waste Not, Want Not ...

2010-07-26T22:35:00.000-04:00

I use a LOT of vinegar, for various purposes ... it's the "cure all" around here - not only does it clean us up and clean us out, but cleans around the house as well! I go through it by the gallons ... so I'm trying my hand at making my own! Not much goes to waste with us ... so in went the skins of all those apples I had canned! They'll set in the jug of water for several weeks, with an occasional stir and a quick sniff [covered by a clean hankie since I didn't have any cheesecloth ... breathing & brewing]. It will be the "mother" of others to come ...

Seeds To Sow ...

2010-07-26T21:49:00.000-04:00

Saving seeds

[in little handmade envys]

Peepin' Peppers ...

2010-07-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Found this hottie peeking out from the pulp of peppers

A happy little redhead isn't she?

[no carving involved]

In A Jam ...

2010-07-26T14:35:00.000-04:00

What a week! Muggy & miserable, as temps soared and sweat poured!!! ... and what could make it worse? Canning like crazy - sizzlin' outside, steamin' inside! Hubby had brought home a ton of fruit from the farmer's market. The hottest days of summer and do you think I had time to swim? ... more like sitting in a sauna! From sun up to sun down, I was under pressure ... as was all that fruit! Jars and jars of jam: blueberry, strawberry, banana, and buckets of blackberries that we picked out back, along with an awful lot of applesauce! And while the kitchen was a disaster, I decided to go ahead and can mixed peppers, green peppers & onions, and bean soups ... just kept going till the countertops were crowded - waiting for hubby to build extra shelves in the pantry. Finally found a use for those old braided chair pads in the process, using them as hot pads for jars set out to cool! Hot, hard work but we'll eat well if hubby gets laid off again this winter!

Cookin' Cornbread ...

2010-07-18T23:03:00.011-04:00

[photo courtesy of Fingerhut®.com -13 pc. cast iron cookware set w/free reversible griddle]

This year was our 10th anniversary [married in May, but as of October it will be 12 years that hubby & I have actually been together] ... and through those years, I've never had a good skillet to hit him over the head with; howbeit many occasions for doing so! [joking of course ... I think!] Most, if not all, of my pots and pans have been hand-me-downs that saw better days long before being passed on to me: handles missing, lost lids, scorched bottoms, mismatched ... banged up and barely useable [we're not talking non-stick, but everything sticks ... no over-easy eggs for breakfast around here, how about scrambled? [because that's what they're going to come out as!] We've purchased a new pan or two here and there, but it wasn't long before they were in the same sad shape - they just don't make 'em like they used to, ya know? So it was coming down to either I quit cooking or we got new cookware - it's all held up as long as it could and I've held off as long as I can! But having the cash for an actual cookware set was beyond our budget. So I had to do some bargain shopping to see where I could get the best deal. Hubby thought stainless steel would be nice ... I wanted cast iron, which is even better - and aluminum just wasn't even up for consideration! I definitely did not want anything with Teflon coating [made by DuPont, the paint company???]! I wanted what was going to last ... a lifetime. And indeed, I did find the deal [above ▲ $99.99 for the set and minimal monthly payments]! But, I didn't stop there... I dug a little deeper [not in my pocketbook!] and found a free shipping coupon at Coupon Cabin, saving me $24.99, getting the set at cost ... and as an added bonus, there's the free gift that comes with ordering online, not to mention the griddle, a $29.99 value [no, this is not paid advertising]! I mentioned our anniversary, noting what the traditional gifts are for each year of marriage - we're stuck between tin or aluminum for the 10th [oh no way!] or steel for the 11th [hmmmm ... I'm missing some stuff here!!!] Hubby's a happy camper ... and he should be ... the sun's comin' up, I got cakes on the griddle! [didn't I mention John Denver in a prior post? I am sooo 70s - sorry ... but Sue, if you're out there, I know you're singin' it too!] Is this what living in the country is doing to me??

Let Your Light Shine ...

2010-07-15T23:02:00.001-04:00

I love oil lamps - economical and the soft glow of light they emit [bright lights bother my eyes and often bring on a headache; hence, I even have a "glare screen" for my computer monitor]. It was too hot & humid to be outside today [a "sticky situation" that leaves me barely able to breathe], so I cooped myself up inside with the A/C. I was cool. I got crafty. I was going to make more candles [we lose power out here pretty often, so try to be prepared when thunderstorms start brewing to beat this heat, which it's supposed to do tonight & tomorrow - I love my little "weather window", by the way!], but after cleaning out the refrigerator [now there's a cool concept!] and coming across several cans of cleaned-up cooking oil [oh! I'm also a can collector, not just a jar junkie], I decided to do up some of these de-light-ful little jar "lamps" - which can be made in a can or a jar. So quick, so easy ... no fumes and a fine flame! These work in a pinch if you have nothing else on hand to light your way [to that pretty potty]!

Everything you need, right in your kitchen ... I'll post the instructions on my "crafts" page.

One Tank Trip ...

2010-07-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

[you can thank me now that I'm not showing a before photo]

We have a well ... our water is good [very good, in fact]. A glass of water from the sink is crystal clear [the glass isn't crystal, but the water is]! But still, the water does contain some sediment that builds up over time in the toilet [as you can see at the very bottom - I saved that just for you]. The entire toilet bowl was covered in this crud ... it came "as is" when we bought the house and I've never been able to get it clean since. After trying nearly every commercial cleaner out there [full of industrial chemicals of course that could blow the bowl if I wasn't careful!], I recently came across a household "hint" that told of pumice stone being the "super scrubber" that was needed ... and nothing more. What in the world is pumice stone?, I hear some of you saying ... well, according to the info provided by Wikipedia, it comes from frothy volcanic lava that has turned solid [some of you may be familiar with Lava Soap™]. Pumice is considered a glass, making it an abrasive; however, it does not scratch porcelain! My hubby has a block for smoothing the crud [calluses] from the bottoms of his feet - I borrowed it for the bottom of the toilet bowl [don't tell]! Anyway, the toilet was disgusting and nothing was doing in getting it clean ... not completely. So I picked up the pumice and plunged in [rubber gloves, goggles, snorkle]! A few scrub sessions later, it all came off [other than what's left to show] and the bowl was clean - sparkling clean!!! You use it just like an eraser, rubbing over the entire area using a little elbow grease. Every stain, gone! All the sediment, gone! It worked so well that I won't ever use anything else! Oh how nice to now have a pretty potty [yes, I even got up under the rim]!

Rollin' Right Along ...

2010-07-13T22:58:00.000-04:00

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" ... fortunately for me, we're having cooler days again, so I can stand to have the oven on [hubby did get the A/C units installed in the windows for the next heatwave that comes our way ... what relief that will be]! Baked a batch of big boy dinner rolls, smeared with sweet cream butter - can it get any better?! Hot out of the oven and half of them gone before we even sat down to the dinner plate! [I promise to get some of these recipes put to the page for you to partake, but for now my kitchen calls ....]

Corn Critters ...

2010-07-13T16:33:00.000-04:00

Seems we're also growing kittens! I don't recall planting those ... but there they were [2 of them], bedded down beneath the cornstalks! Too cute! I wonder what packet of seeds sprouted them??? I'm always on the lookout for snakes that might be slithering around ... never expected to find felines! I suppose I should start canning cat food - this makes a family of 5 that are fond of hanging out here!

Hot Time In The Ol' Town ...

2010-07-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

Got peppers poppin' all over the place! [Jalapeno, Green Bell, Banana] Pretty soon we'll be pickin' & grinnin' [from ear to ear as we collect the corn coming on as well]! Tons of tomatoes too! I'll be canning most of the peppers, but this year I'm going to bottle up some hot sauce also, along with sweet salsa. Hot time in the ol' town tonight! [that's as exciting as it gets around here]

And The Winner Is ...

2010-07-12T17:29:00.001-04:00

I'm entering our local electric co-op's Country Living upcoming seasonal-scene calendar contest with this winter photo ... for the fun of it - or some fast cash!

Not The Website I Was Wanting ...

2010-07-11T21:34:00.007-04:00

I don't like going down to the barn. I'm always in fear of what I might find in there when I open the door [like a snake! ... I've seen my fair share here & there]. So when I have to go down there [alone], I try to make my way long before dark if I'm the one doing the deed of serving dinner to the horse and the goats ... as I did yesterday. I had already filled all the water buckets from the pump inside and flung a few flakes of hay over the fence for the goats ... and just as I was about to latch the door closed, carrying out what was needed for the horse, to my horror I saw this glistening overhead [how I had avoided turning it into a hair net, I don't know]! I tossed the hay at the horse, hitting him head-on ... all the while watching for the weaver of this web and made my getaway! Nope, nope ... I don't like spiders & snakes!

Olive Oyle Goyle ...

2010-07-09T11:26:00.003-04:00

A late-night summer storm passed through and cooled things off a comfortable bit! Still wet out, so thought I'd work on some things indoors today that I've needed to turn my attention to [just as many projects piling up inside as there is out ... and with what limited time to take care of it all, well, we do what we can, when we can around here]! This is my "windowsill garden" ... only I'm not growing fresh, green herbs as some do, but rather getting dried ones into jars of olive oil. They needed refreshing and relabeling ... and I really need a bigger windowsill to set them on as I have more jars than just this one window has room for [others are setting around the sink]. I think I have an idea for stacking them ... we'll see. I must confess that I am a jar junkie - I save all sorts and sizes and they serve me well for many purposes, some of which I'll be sharing, I'm sure! Some of the herbs that you see infusing in oil are: Calendula & Chamomile, Lavender, St. John's Wort, Peppermint and Plantain, to point out a few.

Oh! and Rosemary [a quick shake for seeing]! Some for kitchen culinary, some for crafting ... but most harvested for hands-on healing here at home [in salves, soaps and other such]. I hope to have time later today to get out and about and gather up some clover before the four-footed rover next door does!

Nothing Could Be Sweeter ...

2010-07-08T22:12:00.004-04:00

[nor finer] than a big ol' jug of brown tea brewed in the sun on a hot summer day ... other than it being poured over a tall glass of ice and sipped under a shade tree. If illegal alcohol is called "moonshine", is legal Lipton tea called "sunshine"??? Sufferin' sassafras ... I should have set up a roadside stand!

Doe, a Deer ...

2010-07-08T21:27:00.003-04:00

Or perhaps a buck - I'm so blind I can't see that far away [my eyes won't zoom and neither does my camera for a closeup]! Big & beautiful though ... comes out about dusk to forage in the field and always lingers a while when looking this way - I know she longs to come over for my garden goodies, but I'm not inviting her to dinner! Ahhh ... "home on the range", where the deer [play] and the cantelope [lay] ! Wildlife and a wide open garden ...and we haven't gotten around to putting up the rest of the fence!

$50 and a Florist ...

2010-07-08T20:49:00.001-04:00

Forget it!!! Went for a walk in the "forest" [back yard] and found all these wildflowers free for the taking! Gathered 'em up and put them in a milkglass vase ... pretty as a picture on the weathered picnic table [I was weathered too, by the way, after walking back up the hill in the heat and not near as pretty]!

Shady Deal ...

2010-07-08T19:33:00.004-04:00

Just before the big heatwave hit, we were busy [yes, I really was!] getting caught up on yardwork; 3 &1/2 acres of mowing, which takes a-l-l d-a-y l-o-n-g, even on a rider [which isn't even the hard part ... I call it "poor man's 4-wheelin', just a slower speed - hubby looked a little too happy to have at it!]. I got to tackle the weeds around the house and ~~toss around some grass seed~~ feed the birds! Then it was on to push mowing along the bankside by the road [him again], digging up all the rocks around the flower beds that had became one with the dirt [me] and taking down poison ivy that's growing at the base of most of the many trees [me also].

Note: *only one of us is doing manual labor here ... the other is assisted by mechanical motivation! I needed a nap ... and I don't think he ever noticed!

The Heat is On ...

2010-07-08T18:50:00.005-04:00

With temps hitting the high 90s the past few days [that was in the shade!], it's been unbearable to be in the house ... or out of the house - the sweat remains the same! It has just been sweltering! So in order to survive, we went from drippin' to dippin' and have spent what time we can panting in the pool, trying to make it through the day without dying!

So this is how I've been spending the dog days of summer ... swimmin' [catch "the wave"]!

Cooked Cabbage ...

2010-07-06T11:57:00.000-04:00

Hoping the bugs might leave us a head or two [they've been gnawing it down to nothing]! Rather than use pesticides to put them in their place, I'm trying to treat them to bacon grease so they'll bug off! I've heard that stale beer works well but we don't drink, so not about to get a brewery going [they might put out a call for all their friends to come to a party]! Also heard that this should do the trick and tempt them to leave the leaves alone ... and so far, so good! They're diving in and dying of their gluttony! I save all my leftover grease and wash it, rendering it just like lard [cleans out all the particles and keeps it white], but had a can in the frig that I hadn't gotten around to doing that to yet, so used it ... smooshed spoonfuls into some saved tuna cans, dug out random ditches and buried them up to the rims. They came running! By morning there were bugs galore ... in the cans, not on the cabbage! Hubby was afraid that it might attract coons that come close in the night, but that wasn't the case ... just our dogs taking a trek over to try a lick!

Birds of a Feather ...

2010-07-06T11:17:00.000-04:00

While wandering around the front yard, picking up sticks [in the form of fallen timber from the tall trees - dead branches that have been blown down] and getting a good pile going for the fire pit out back, I discovered this little bird's nest laying under one of my Rose of Sharon saplings ... empty of eggs, but full of ideas! I've got all sorts of baskets stored away that I was never quite sure what to do with but knew there'd be a use ... someday, in some way! I've used several in the house but none of them outside. And for some time now I've been pondering over what to put in place of the broken bird bath that had set in my circular flower bed out front [that has since been badly neglected, overgrown and buried under dead leaves & dried twigs!] ... and this little nest made me think, well why does there have to be another [boring] bird bath??? Hmmmm .... why not a bird's nest instead! I could fashion one from a basket and set it on a stake! So I went to work early this morning [trying to beat the heat!] digging out the debris ... and decided that someday this would be the perfect place for a small pond [next year's project perhaps]! I love to sit in the shade out there on my bench and watch the world go by - so pretty, so peaceful! The entire area of that part of the yard is carpeted with moss, rather than grass ... it feels so soft & cool on the feet! I have all I need to build a "nest": basket, moss, big sturdy branch and even the birds [will post pics when project is complete]!

In new skin!

2010-07-04T14:35:00.003-04:00

The blog, not me! Felt it was time to clear the clutter and keep it simple!

I don't deliver!

2010-07-03T17:04:00.004-04:00

Hubby spent the afternoon outside painting on his day off yesterday [so many projects, so little time!], so thought I'd reward him with his favorite ~~breakfast, lunch, or~~ dinner - homemade pizza! Put 2 together [from scratch, of course!]... one with all the toppings [his] and another with just pepperoni and onions [mine]. Not quite Pizza Oven, but the next best thing [out of MY oven!].

"I'm not sure what makes pepperoni so good - if it's the pepper or the oni." -Ulrik Stephens

Set to snooze!

2010-07-02T11:23:00.004-04:00

Hubby's hammock... oh, how he longs for the day he can just lay there

and

do nothing but nap!
[they say that sleeping in one is better than a bed]

"The only liberty an inferior man really cherishes is the liberty to quit work, stretch out in the sun, and scratch himself." ~H.L. Mencken

Little yellow house

2010-07-01T23:43:00.000-04:00

From dirt to dough!

2010-07-01T14:31:00.003-04:00

Considerably cooler this week, so getting out of the garden and back in the house to get my hands into something other than dirt! Did some baking the other day - multiple loaves of bread, both white & wheat, chocolate cake w/chocolate icing, and oatmeal cookies w/raisins & walnuts. Warming up as we head into the weekend, so no more loafin' around... back outside to my garden of "weedin".

"You know, you have to put bread on the table. So you thank God you got the job." - Gavin MacLeod

June bugs & jam!

2010-06-28T10:21:00.002-04:00

This takes me back to when we first moved out here and how hard we've worked over the years to make it "home." Hubby's been brush hogging briar bushes, trying to keep down the bugs. Cleared an area around this chestnut tree, which was bogged down by underbrush - a bit of tree trimming to do away with the branches that had bent to bottom made for another nice shaded area. I think these trees make great "climbers" for kids!

And, I can make my way back to the berry bushes better... we'll be jammin' soon!

"What will come from the briar but the berry." - Irish proverb

Like a fish out of water!

2010-06-27T10:16:00.003-04:00

Granddaughter [Bree] is coming out next week for a few days [hence the handrails up the steps to the pool... and here you thought it was for me to hold on and hobble up, ha!] No doubt she'll be swimming from sunup to sundown. [photo taken about 6 years ago when she was about the same age -she's now 13- at Baylor Beach - what a "diva-h"! *chuckle*]

"If you want to learn to swim jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you." ~Bruce Lee

Watch your step!

2010-06-26T15:32:00.004-04:00

All work and no play around here this week! ... mowing, weeding, watering, whatever... and what's this???? Well... obviously it's a staircase - with storage underneath... leading up to the pool. A one-sided ladder presented a problem - getting in [unless, of course, you want to take a good run for it and pole vault into the pool... nobody here is that athletic!]. Not finished, just framed... haven't figured out a way to fashion it for privacy yet, as we now have neighbors.

Next we'll be staining the steps, the picnic tables, and the outdoor furniture... so much fun in the sun I can hardly stand it [we've swam once]!

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs." ~Vance Hayner

Havin' a hayday!

2010-06-25T14:52:00.042-04:00

Delivery day for hay [from the field next door - we give access, they give hay]... some square bales and several round bales, all having to be hauled down over the hill and stacked in the horse barn... and hubby needed a helping ~~hand~~ backhoe; he heaved, I ho'd!

It was hot. I had a headache. But the horse was happy!

"See, hon, moving hay bales is FUN!" - Becoming a Better Horseman , Honing your fibbing skills

Change your underwear!

2010-06-18T11:32:00.004-04:00

Sitting here printing out some pages of info for a Bible Study of Exodus - the priesthood of Aaron & his sons [Old Testament] and thought I'd share - "God wants to change you at the deepest and most personal level of your being." ...right down to your "linen breeches"!

"You can tell a lot about a person from his underwear." ~Rachel Bilson

Ye ol' swimmin' hole!

2010-06-18T09:54:00.001-04:00

It's not Lake Joseph of my childhood days, but it'll do for an occasional summer dip! [headed for a high of 85, so today may be the day!] Several setbacks in setting it up - rainy days and trying to save sand from being washed away, releveling the landscape & removing wrinkles from the liner [having to let the water back out to do so...a slow drain that took a day or two and then refilling that took another day or so to avoid overworking our well pump], so all in all it was accomplished over several weeks as hubby had time to work on it

[I offered a helping hand here & there, but he felt he was better off if I just stood there and said nothing and handed him the parts in completing the project; the old adage, "I know what I'm doing!" - without directions... I won't dare tell how many phone calls he had to make!]

Got the filtering system set up, the water's been "shocked" [hoping the same doesn't happen when we dive in!]... chlorine's been added and it's crystal clear!

"I can't fly, but swimming is the next best thing.... The water is my sky." ~Author Unknown

Not every rose has it's thorn!

2010-06-17T16:35:00.001-04:00

This is a thornless rosebush that I planted behind the picket fence last summer. Japanese beetles devoured it [in spite of attempting to drown them in DawnTM [I think they enjoyed the "bubble bath!] and I thought it was destroyed... but she's back and a bloomer!! Ready to repel the rascals this go-round! Sighting the first bud, I took a bunch of pennies and placed them in a circle around the base of the bush - a cheap trick I'm going to try... something about the copper creating a "force field" barrier and them not being brave enough to cross the line - let the battle begin!

"I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed of roses, and you have to work real hard at it." ~Nigel Mansell

Color my world!

2010-06-16T14:54:00.059-04:00

Finally finished painting the back bedroom [which served as my "office" while I was working from home as a medical transcriptionist, up until "retiring" last year] ...waited 2 years, wishing for something other than "white primer" to go up on the walls! Got around to choosing a color, which I was sure coordinated with the pieced quilt & pretty curtain set - "Rambling Rapids" [taken from the "Color of Life" Dutch Boy Collection - where do they come up with some of these names for paint??? ....there's a brown called "Beef Broth"... to go with one's kitchen cuisine?]

But before betting on it and buying a gallon, I did set the sample swatch against the curtains to see... I didn't want [the options of] green or beige and I definitely had no desire for anything "rosey" [that would be overkill]! I've made it a point to paint the entire place in rich "earthtones" - my favorite season is Fall, so I went with that color scheme throughout the house... plus, living in the countryside it makes for cleaner walls... or so I've convinced myself!

Well, I played "interior decorator", [color blind though I may be]; you know, or don't...maybe I don't either!, how they say that if you pick a less noticeable color it will carry itself and pull the room together? There was a wee bit of hint to the tint in the curtains, and when the paint first went up [down, up, down] it sure looked like a match to me! I'll blame it on the lighting that it doesn't...

But I like it anyway and am not about to repaint the room! Perhaps I can find a same-shade fabric and add on to the quilt top in an attempt to tie it all together and trick the [blind] eye???

"Color possesses me. I don't have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter." ~Paul Klee

Room with a view!

2010-06-15T16:18:00.005-04:00

[My favorite part of the house - at the big bay window in the livingroom]

"I look out of this window and I think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of it. The trees and birds and everything else and I'm part of it. I didn't ask to be put here, I've been lucky in finding myself here." ~Morris West

[and my favorite view, from the front porch... looking out at the pond]

"I'm sitting on my front porch on this afternoon. Reflecting on my life on this day. There's little in this lifetime that we can call free. But sitting on my swing, this is what I see. God's great creation and all that He brings." ~A Day Without Words

Hoe Noe!

2010-06-15T14:45:00.012-04:00

I am sooo not digging this! Dirt. Hand vs. Hoe. ...and where's hubby???[out back building a small deck for the pool] Beginning with the potato plants... and I'm not pleased! No, that's not a [down-on-your-knees] "handheld" hoe laying on the ground, it's supposed to have a long handle; and it did, but no more - it fell off [and I seriously doubt that it can be Super Glue'd back on]!... "by the sweat of the brow" - that's meant for man tilling the ground, right? [not me!] Oh, he was going to buy a new one... they were on sale at the hardware store a week ago... that was when he was going to do the weeding - the difference a day makes & who does the deed, 'eh?

So I'm stuck... crawling around on my hands & knees, breaking my back, picking out pieces of sticks & stones [that DO break your bones, when you're bent over!] and weeding my way down the rows! I'm not afraid to get dirty nor am I afraid of hard work; you can't live in the country and be catered to like a "queen bee"... you've got to roll up your sleeves and dig in to do your part - and that I do [ruin my nice nails or not!].
Oh, but the time and trouble it's going take to do away with all those weeds, row by row and without a proper hoe! [same as a carpenter with no hammer?] :-}

A dirty job, but somebody has to do it ...

"Plant and your spouse plants with you; weed and you weed alone." ~Jean Jacques Rousseau

Gone to pot!

2010-06-15T14:21:00.002-04:00

Getting my houseplants repotted today: Pothos ["Devil's Ivy"], Calathea zebrina ["Wandering Jew"], Dieffenbachia ["Dumb Cane"], Syngonium ["Arrow Head"] Chlorophytum comosum ["Spider"], Philodendron ["Heart Ivy"], Hedera helix ["English Ivy"], Dracaena marginata ["Dragon Tree"], Peperomia caperata ["Ripple"] ...I think I've named them right! Lots of new starts bearing root and ready to be enriched in soil, so need to come up with some extra containers [already using empty plastic veg. oil "cans" and ice cream buckets that I had on hand]! Need to finish up and head outside to the wonderful world of WEEDS in the garden that are growing just as well!

"I grow plants for many reasons: to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow." ~David Hobson

Got your goat!

2010-06-14T18:18:00.027-04:00

Foo! Chew-man-du, look at you! This guy won't ever stay put in the pen! A thousand times hubby has patched holes in the fencing and a thousand times [soon as hubby walks away] this goat gets out - somehow! [too short & chubby to jump the fence, but manages to squeeze his happy little self right up under it and out]! Better things to do than chase him down all day long, so just let him go about his business now.

He hides down over the hillside, out of view, till just about dark before he decides to take a trip toward the house, looking for trouble! I have a line of lilac bushes [future privacy fence] taking root and just beginning to bud that he's developed a taste for [along with anything else he eyeballs!]... but just can't keep a ~~good~~ goat down [over the hill], I guess!

["Later fellas" ...off to look at life from the other side of the fence!]

"Would zoning allow 2 miniature goats or sheep to be kept in the garden to keep the grass down?" ~Dallas data city slicker

Hosta la vista!

2010-06-12T17:20:00.024-04:00

These babies are getting HUGE!!! [started as cuttings taken from my mother's "monsters"] ...as are the daylillies [that will bloom red]. I'm happy to see the purple geranium finally start to sprawl out and gain some ground too, since being transplanted!

We've never gotten around to putting gutters up on the house [$$$], and apparently this was the perfect spot for greenery to grow, with the rain run-off! Lots of "rock gardening" around here with all the sandstone that was dug up - works well for borders!

The great thing about hostas, they never say "goodbye!"

Delighted to finally see my red "lilly trees" making it to full bloom this year! Last year the bunnies enjoyed them before I got to see them at this stage! As you can see, they're next to some shrubbery, which shows how tall they are, topping 2 ft already! [nice & sturdy as the stems are quite thick for support to stand so tall - they grow up to 6 feet high]

*putting in a plug for Michigan Bulb Co.[mail order], being that this is where many of my plants & flowers came from - I have always had satisfactory service in dealing with them; you can't beat their "Buy $40 worth/Get $20 worth free offers" and they have always been true to their word with their "guaranteed to grow or a full refund/replacement, anytime!"

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

How does your garden grow?

2010-06-11T17:14:00.022-04:00

The garden "goods" went in just after Memorial Day: tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage, peas, beans, peppers [variety], eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli & brussel sprouts, watermelon, cantelope, cucumbers & corn ...oh! and of course sunflowers to surround it all! [nice field of hay ready in the background!] Put up a partial fence [so far] - see my little white grocery bag "ghosts" floating, flapping in the breeze? [to scare off the deer & antelope that come to play or the buffalo should they come to roam and ruin it all!]

The parameter is staked all around, with round tin can lids strung from each, tinkling as I'm sprinkling [sounding like Tibetan chimes... that seem to be attracting the black birds [singin' a song of sixpence rather than shoo them away!]
We enlarged the garden by about 5 ft. this year, so should have a big bounty! It gets plenty of sunshine AND we've had plenty of rain so far this season!

This is our compost container [no, it's not lopsided, just looks to be!] that sets out back, tucked away so that it's not an eyesore in the yard and far enough from the house that we don't get the "whiff of Jiff" [although there hasn't been any bad smell, since it's aerated... of course, living in the midst of farmland, you get used to the many scents of "nature"!] It's near enough to the goats' pen and horse barn that it's unnoticed, anyway! There's a huge potato vine that's sprouted right in the middle... if anyone cares to come dig it up for dinner! ☺
The contents, all courtesy of our kitchen, created a base of beautiful brown soil to get the garden going this year! All but the sink was pitched in from waste [I save the water in the sink for watering my houseplants], aside from keeping coffee grounds and crushed eggshells to "feed" the soil directly surrounding the plants coming up in the garden, which works as well in combatting slugs! I'm sure we're serving many leftover meals to the raccoons around here that make their way up-n-over... but at least they haven't carried it away!

"In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it." ~Frank McKinney Hubbard

Sweet Sunshine!

2010-06-11T15:41:00.013-04:00

In the words of John Denver: "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy"! [especially after such a l-o-n-g "SAD" winter] I don't know about you, but I'm ready to step outside, seek the benefits, and soak it all up!

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."~Eleonora Duse