Have I mentioned lately…

that these kids make me all goofy feeling?  I really love them.  Especially when they make funny faces in the pool.

 

Sometimes God sends us people...

when we don't even know we need them.

The Camp Guy and I took the boys on a day trip the other day. The boys were delighted to go, but they were not SO delighted with each other. After listening to them argue and argue and argue and argue and... well, you get the picture,

the Camp Guy. had. had. enough.

"I am going to stop this car every time you two start arguing, and it is NOT going to move again until you stop." comes his frustrated but ever-so-patient pronouncement.

And so we do stop. and go.

and stop. and go.

and stop. and go.

AND stop. by the side of the interstate. And not 30 seconds later, here come the flashing lights. The Camp Guy just sighs and rolls down the window.

This young policeman walks up, peers into the back at the boys and then up at us in the front. "Is there a problem?" "We have two boys in the back who will not stop arguing with one another," I reply. "Hmmm," he says.

He then repositions himself towards the back of the car, "Boys, You done got the PO-lice involved now. That's serious. You best stop arguing, and let your daddy drive."

Their eyes as big as saucers, they reply politely, "Yes, sir!"

He quietly grins at us, tells us to have a nice day and a safe trip, and walks back to his car.

The Camp Guy and I grin at each other, and I say a private "THANK YOU" to God for sending us that particular policeman, at just the right moment.

And we go...

The Old Commode. No, not that one!

We have an old piece of furniture that used to belong to the camp guy’s grandparents.  It is, according to my Nana, a commode – the shelf that the wash pitcher and bowl sat on, complete with towel bar.  I’ve always wanted to paint it, but never wanted to mess up the antiqueyness of it. (Yeah, I did just make that word up.  Brand spankin’ new word – just for you.  You’re welcome.) 

ANYWAY – the camp guy and I talked about it again recently, since neither of us like the color. Some parts were obviously old (the drawer), but parts looked like they had been replaced (the doors and back are made of rough plywood), so we decided to paint it guilt free. 

The paint job isn’t really the greatest, but I think it looks pretty good, and I LOVE the color!  And now, instead of hiding in the bedroom, it’s flaunting it’s beauty in the kitchen. 

What do you think?  Did I mention that red makes me happy?

Oh, Hail!

We had a pretty decent storm here about a week ago, with a good bit of hail.  My beautiful squash leaves have been really beat up.  Look at all those holes in the leaves – all from being pelted by the hail!

We had some praying mantis babies hatch somewhere nearby, and several of them have taken up residence in the garden.  They’re finally big enough to really be tackling some of the regular garden pests, and I found this one today busy eating a cucumber beetle. Go, baby, go!

Squash Bonanza!

Lemon Balm

The lemon balm has taken over, so I’ve been cutting it back like crazy and it’s hanging all over my kitchen drying.  Makes the kitchen smell nice…

In case you’re wondering what it’s hanging on in this photo – it’s a wine rack that I got at a yard sale that holds my rolling pins.  The one in the middle isn’t much to look at, but the one on the top and the one on the bottom were made by hand by my great uncle, who is a wonder at that sort of thing, and they’re just to beautiful to be left in a drawer – hence their place of honor on the wall (well, when they aren’t covered up by drying herbs!).

Jean

Yo-yo mania!

I’ve set a completely random goal for myself this summer to make 1,000 yo-yos.  Not the walkin’-the-dog, around the world type yo-yos, but the little quilty variety.  I have no rhyme or reason to size or fabric choices, just a need to use up a lot of scraps, and a hope that at the end of the summer, when faced with this pile of yo-yos, I’ll be inspired to do something with them, and well on my way to having enough to do it! 

I’ll keep you updated with a little sidebar here on the blog.

If you have any brilliant ideas for what to do with them once they’re finished, I’d love to hear them!

Jean

mmmm… summer bliss

Ok, so I’m sorry for my pity party the other day.  Little bit is better, big’ un is home, the camp guy is feeling better, and I am slowly becoming less gimpy!  The dishwasher, alas, did NOT make it.

But, my mom and cousin went down to the garden yesterday and picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes, and  I managed to pick a handful of basil leaves today and chopped them both up with some fresh mozzarella and a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.

The smell and the taste of this, delicious!  And how pretty is it?  And despite how easily distracted this will make me sound – it makes me happy!

What’s your favorite fresh from the garden recipe?

Jean

the week in review...

Big stuff went to camp. I had big plans to get things done around the house while he was away. Then...

Little bit went to day camp for two days until he got sick. He is STILL running a fever.

The Camp Guy has been having another bout of his intestinal stuff so he's been sick most of the week.

I've developed a bulging disc in my neck, so can hardly move my arm, back and neck, so I am out of commission for a little while, and on a lot of drugs that make me giggle.

My dishwasher is now officially out of commission, too.

Guess what I've gotten done?

Hope y'all had a good week!

Today's collection...

4 patty pan squash
5 yellow squash
2 handfuls of beans (most of which the campers ate while we were still in the garden!)
several cherry tomatoes (most of which were also eaten)
a few strawberries (all eaten)
a bunch of red leaf lettuce and romaine lettuce
one small onion

They really enjoyed being out there today. It was fun walking them through and seeing their fascination with the growing things. I even got them to pick a few slugs for me!

How's your garden coming?

Some stuff from the garden

Just wanted to share a few things I collected from the garden this weekend.  The big purple bowl is a salad I collected for the high school campers.

I also got at assortment of beans, strawberries and green tomatoes (and one little red cherry tomato!).  I fried up the green tomatoes and they were delish!  We also had the first patty pan squash, which I sautéed with onion, olive oil, salt and pepper – yummy!

I love summer!

Jean