After the Carnage

It’s been almost a week ago that the shelf fell down in the laundry room and we lost almost all of the produce we’d canned during the summer.  Today I finally gathered all of the surviving jars next to the sink and washed each one. Several were coated in syrup, and shards of glass glued to the outside. Don’t ask me how I discovered that…

Here are the survivors, all shiny and clean after a hot soapy bath and vinegar water rinse:

I removed and tossed many dented rings, but the seals held on everything except three jars of apple butter. 

I appreciate all of the kind comments of sympathy. I truly feel fortunate that we have anything left of our hard work and each time I open one of the surviving jars, I’ll be a little more thankful than before. :o)

Losing the Bounty

So yesterday morning at 7:15 Jessica called me at work and this is how part of our conversation went (approximately):

J: “Mom, where did you keep the stuff you canned this summer?”

Me: “Where do I keep the stuff I canned?”

J: “Where did you keep the pickles and green beans and stuff? I know where they are now, I just want to know where they were.”

Me: “It’s all on a shelf in the laundry room, why?”

J: “No, it was on a shelf in the laundry room. Now it’s all over the floor.”

Me: “The shelf fell down?!” (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

J: “There is broken glass, pickles, and green beans everywhere.” (Compelling reading, no?)

Yes, the shelf that Greg safely installed high up on the wall in the laundry room had too much weight hanging off the front of it (where I had hung Bradley’s full clothes hamper to get it off the floor…) and the metal supports just couldn’t handle the load. They bent almost 180 degrees, pulling the shelf out of the brackets and flat against the wall, perpendicular to where it had been.

There were jars of green beans, dill pickles, cinnamon pickles (the syrup!), and apple butter stacked neatly up there, along with extra jars and a box of miscellaneous canning supplies. Here is a snapshot of what I found when I got home:

Jess had cleaned up much of it already so I never saw the entirety of the mess. This was enough to sicken me, though. Yes, that is the cat box in the lower left-hand corner, full of fresh litter and now, dill pickles.

It took me about an hour to get through the broken glass and scattered food on the floor, mop up the syrup and bean juice, and run the Swiffer over it all to hopefully pick up all of the tiny shards of glass. That was all I had time to do before we had to leave for Jess’s and Bradley’s six-week check at the doctor’s office in Lincoln. By the time we got home early in the evening, the floor had dried with a sticky syrup-glue coating. It was just staying that way overnight. I was tired.

First thing this morning out came the bucket, rags, and scrub brush. It took almost an hour to do just the laundry room floor, but now it’s all shiny clean and our shoes don’t make that sticking, slurpy sound when we walk back there.

If I have to guess, I’d say we lost 80-90% of what we canned. There are a few jars of each thing that did not break, and a couple of empties that survived the crash. Fortunately, this loss doesn’t mean we won’t eat this winter, though it is disappointing to lose what we worked so hard on together. It all sucks, but if we look on the bright side, which I always must do, no one was standing back there when it happened, so no one got hurt. And I’m sure there would have been injuries if a person had been under that shelf when the Mason jars came tumbling down.

I still need to wash those jars that survived and put everything back where it belongs in the laundry room, and the baby is asleep, so now’s my chance. Off to work…

Baptism Day

Baptism: The act of baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.

Today was Bradley’s day to be officially welcomed into the body of Christ that is Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. His family and friends pledged to raise him in a Christian environment and teach him about the church, “placing into his hands the Scriptures”.

Sara and Nick, along with Jessi’s very good friends from North Dakota are his sponsors.

(From l to r: Sara, Nick, Jake, Jimmy, Marae, Brandon, Bradley, Jessica, Pastor Buch)

In a few short years he’ll be old enough to attend Sunday School and VBS, and have a part in the Christmas program. We haven’t done any of that in a long time, and this Grammy looks forward to it again. :o)

What fun we had!

Halloween has always been one of our favorite holidays. We enjoy the costumes, the decorations, and passing out the candy.  When our kids were still young enough for trick-or-treating, Greg and I would take turns each year, one of us staying home to answer the door, the other toting the kids around town for the candy-fest.

Obviously, with our kids being 22 and 25 years old, we haven’t done the trick-or-treat thing for several years. Instead, we just enjoy the young ones who come to the door, chatting with those who aren’t too shy, and pretending to be horrified at the scary ones.

The past few years, Wyatt, Garett, and Grace have been our helpers, answering the door and giving away handfuls of candy to each trick-or-treater who came up on the porch. This year they did the same, up until time to head out into the neighborhood themselves for their first time to wander the dark streets, begging strangers for candy.

Here we are when they first arrived and were pretty cooperative about picture-taking. Wyatt is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, the good Transformers. Garett is Bumblebee, guardian of the kid in the movie, also an Autobot, and only talks through the radio. Bradley the Cat has no idea what in the sam-hill is happening, and Grace was the Snow Princess with beautiful hair, though you can’t really see her hairdo in this picture. 

When it was time, we met up with niece Hannah and her two young cousins, Olivia and George, who are visiting from Hawaii with their parents. Grace decided Olivia was pretty wonderful and the two of them walked and talked. We didn’t get to hear much of their conversation, but at one point Grace was heard to tell Olivia, “I live in the country.”, to which Olivia replied, “I live in the jungle!”

Here they are at their first house, getting treats from our sweet neighbor, Jo:

(Bradley had to stay home with Grampy.)

For awhile, Garett followed behind Olivia, clucking like a chicken. We aren’t sure why. :o)

We pass out candy for the trick-or-treaters, but I always have something else for Wyatt, Garett, and Grace. This year the big hit for Wyatt was the glow-bracelets and glow-sticks that I picked up at Dollar Tree. We’ll definitely invest in those again. Here he is using two bracelets to make himself some eyeglasses:

It was a very fun evening, and I enjoyed that little blast-from-the-past from when my kids were little. Next year, if the weather is good, little Bradley may get to go along. Oh, Grammy can’t wait!!

Back to the Past

I wanted to make this a weekly topic with a different photo each time, but “life” has gotten in the way lately. Let’s get a fresh start, shall we? :o)

This is perhaps one of my most favorite Adams’ cousins photo ever. I do realize it’s only a portion of the final cousin-count, but I love the colors and the faces and and the old wallpaper and Grandma and Grandpa looking tired. Who knew they still had 15 or so more babies to come into this big, loud, raucous family?

So we’ll start with Grandpa holding Jody and go clockwise. Grandma is holding Tonita and in front of them is me. Then Bart is to my left and Jesse is next to him, grinning. Jeff is in red, Bobby in turquoise (some of you got cowboy clothes for something…). Paula seems to be staring down the camera, and  Barbie closed her eyes. Teresa in red, Debbie in turquoise, and Mike in front of Grandpa. Weren’t we all just the cutest bunch of kids ever?

I have no idea what the occasion was, but since Jesse and Paula, and Bobby and Bart are there, I’m going to guess it’s Thanksgiving and pheasant season?  It looks like we’re having, maybe, potato soup and there’s a plate of leftover turkey in the middle of the table?

I wonder when Grandma got that bright yellow table? She gave it to my mom years later, and Dad still had it when he died. Randy had it in storage at a rental house and unfortunately the tenant ruined it. I regret that I didn’t bring it home and wedge it in here, somewhere.

It was a good, solid table and there were hundreds and hundreds of family meals eaten while sitting at it. Goulash, meatloaf, pot roast, and fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Thousands of bowls of cereal, pancakes, scrambled eggs. Lunch meat sandwiches and potato chips, bowls of soup, bread and butter.  Our entire family sat together every evening at 6 p.m. for supper. No TV, no radio. One of the best rules my parents had, I think.

Our birthdays were celebrated around that table with cake, candles, and ice cream. Usually we had a white or yellow cake baked in a 9x13 pan with chocolate frosting.

Eventually I not only sat there with my family for meals, but also served them  meals I’d prepared. Never a tablecloth or centerpiece or candles. Food was served in the pans they were cooked in, condiment bottles set in the middle. Casual and informal. Pretty much just as you see in the photo.

There are more than food memories associated with the yellow table. We did our  homework there, and played games and paper dolls. I literally covered it with piles of cut-out Christmas cookies one year, polished my fingernails, and folded hundreds of loads of laundry on it. Mom and her friends and sisters gathered ‘round with their babies and “community” glasses of iced tea.

Yes, there are tons of warm, wonderful memories for me associated with that table, but there are also some sad and painful memories. Fights and tears and sorrow. Sitting with family after our brother died. Getting in trouble for various childhood bad decisions. One of the last times I sat at that table was with my brothers to plan our father’s funeral.

I was 16 months-old in that photo, and the last time I sat at that table I was 43.  To me, that table was a symbol of how our family was the most important thing, no matter what else was going on.

Okay, so you see how this post ended up in a totally different direction than it started?  That’s kind of how it works sometimes…

The H1N1

We’ve had an uninvited and unwelcomed guest in our home for the past several days. Jessica was the first to succumb to it’s charms, just a tickle in the back of her throat that turned into an annoying cough, then it went downhill from there. On Friday morning I piddled around in town after work and didn’t get home until almost 11. I found Jess and Bradley in bed – Jess had a temp of 102.2  and a terrific headache.

Immediately I called the clinic and the appointment desk clerk balked a bit, telling me they were only taking emergencies. When I (politely) explained that Jess was a mere 11 days postpartum and running such a high temp, an appointment time miraculously opened up.

The flu test was positive and the doctor prescribed several medications, Tamiflu being the first. I asked for a prescription for both Greg and I as a preventative, and was denied.

So guess who else got sick?

I called the clinic yesterday afternoon when my own temperature reached 102. They didn’t even make me come in, they just went ahead and called in a prescription for me. (That is a MIRACLE for this clinic!)

I called Greg and asked him to pick it up on his way home. He asked me to call the clinic and get him a script, too, since he had started the irritating little cough that was the first symptom. I made him do it himself (hello! I was sick and he just didn’t want to talk on the phone to a stranger…) and they agreed (TWO miracles in one day!), so as soon as he got home we loaded up on the drugs.

He just now called me from work, sounding so perky I wanted to shoot him. I feel better, but still tired and achy and coughing.  Thankfully I haven’t had a fever today.

So far the baby is fine. There was nothing they could do for him that was preventative – we just take precautions to not breathe or cough around him. Those little masks from the pharmacy work great. No, you won’t see a photo of any of us in those. :o)

So while I am pissed off (pardon my French) that the doctor Jess saw on Friday wouldn’t give us the Tamiflu and save us from becoming ill,  at least we’ll be immune to H1N1 the rest of the winter. I guess if we have to find a good thing to come of this, that would be it.

To end this pathetic and whiney post on a high note, I’ll include a gratuitous photo of the little man,  or Tiberius as some call him (I’ll have to explain that one later…):

The Pumpkin Patch

A week ago Saturday we took a little field trip to Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch near Grand Island. This is the same place Nick and I took the kids last year. This time it was Leslie and Jessi and I who accompanied them and we had a wonderful time.

Here are a few highlights:

The inflatable pumpkin:

Grace on the tire swing:

Garett in the big tube slide:

Garett looking at the sky through the telescope:

The tricycle track:

Wyatt made a length of rope:

And, of course, everyone took home a pumpkin:

We had a little picnic afterward at a very nice Boy Scout park/lake just down the road. Jess was terrorized by a tiny little spider while we ate, but other than that, a good time was had by all! :o)

Are We Telepathetic?*

As I arrived home from work this morning, the song on the CD player was “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (1971).  I hate to turn off the car in the middle of a song (OCD much?), so I usually just turn off the engine and listen to the remainder of the song before exiting the vehicle. (I love Dr. Hook’s music and was able to see them live at the State fair when I was in High School.)

Jess and Bradley were (and still are) snuggled in the recliner, and J and I chatted a minute. I’d taken some migraine meds when I got home, so I sat in my chair with my eyes closed, waiting for the meds to take effect. While sitting in the quiet, that song, “Sylvia’s Mother” was going through my mind - “Please Mrs. Avery I just got to talk to her, I’ll only keep her awhile…” 

Out of the blue, Jess says, “Sylvia’s Mother keeps going through my head this morning.”  I started laughing and told her it was the song I was listening to on the way home, and it was going through my head too!

We do this once in awhile – one of us will start singing a song or quoting a movie that the other was thinking of. Either we’re telepathetic* or we just spend way too much time together! :o)

 

*I know the word is “telepathic” – see this movie quote from Stepmom (1998):

Ben Harrison: See Mom? I told you! I'm telepathetic.
Jackie Harrison: Telepathic.
Ben Harrison: That's what I said.

Hey Baby!

This past week has gone by in a blur, and here’s the reason why:

Bradley Nicholas Lott was born on Monday, September 28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. He weight 7 lb. 4 oz. and was 21” long.

Jessica began having contractions on Sunday afternoon, but we didn’t head for the hospital until 1:30 Monday morning. It was a very long day waiting for the little guy, but all went well with labor and delivery.

I was Jessi’s coach, so it was my privilege to watch Bradley be born. Jess says I deserted her to watch at the end of the bed, and I did, but what an awesome blessing to be witness to that miracle.

They let me cut the cord, and my hand was shaking so much I was afraid I would poke the baby with the scissors.

He had such a sweet little cry, not frantic or scared, just curious. Does that make sense? Quiet and like he was saying, “Hi, I’m here. Now what?”.  They needed him to really cry, so they took him to the warmer and rubbed him all over with a blanket – he gave some good wails then, but when I touched his cheek and started talking to him, he immediately stopped crying and looked around in wonder. I could tell he was listening to me, so I just blathered on like a person does when talking to an infant. Everyone does that, right? :o)

 

After they weighed him, I went out to the hallway to make the announcement. He was about 10 minutes old by then, and Greg said nurses kept coming out of the room, but no one would give them any details about anything. I think he was a bit worried, but I assured him all was well and after awhile, he met his grandson.

I brought them home on Wednesday and slowly our life is taking on a new routine and a new “normal”. Jess is a natural at being a mommy. Right now they’re snuggled into the recliner, both asleep.

He’s a lucky boy to be so well-loved.

Going Back to the Past

With the imminent arrival of the next generation, I've been thinking a lot about documenting stories about our family, and decided to do part of that on this blog. Every week I'm going to post one or two of the old photos that I have on my computer and talk about what I remember about it. I welcome input from anyone else who remembers when the photo was taken and what was going on at the time. (It's REALLY EASY to comment here, and I know there are many family members reading who probably can add to my stories, so I hope to hear from you!)

Since today is Dad's birthday (he would be 69!) my first photo memory will be from his file... (click on photo to enlarge)

This is from the early 1950's. From left to right we have Aunt Jan, Uncle Eugene, Dad, and Uncle Wendell. Notice their clothes and boots behind the tank on what looks like rolls of fencing by the windmill.

I do not know the story behind this specific photo, but I chose it because I have a personal memory of swimming in the horse tank at Grandma's house.

I am the eldest grandchild on the side of the family, and the only one who remembers "the farm". They moved to town when I was five, so it must've been the summer I turned 4 that I remember spending several days on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was busy all day with household and garden chores, and I remember her letting me play in the horse tank while she worked outside. After we went inside, Grandma had me take a bath, and the best part was that I got to keep my swimsuit on! :o) (My poor mom, I asked for weeks to bathe with my swimsuit on after that.)

Well, after spending time in the horse tank, then time in the tub, my little hands were wrinkled beyond recognition. Grandma was ironing clothes and when I noticed my hands and showed them to her, she offered to iron them for me to smooth them out. Of course I declined, and she assured me that my hands would eventually return to normal without the ironing.

I also remember helping Grandma set the table for supper, and she told me about how, during the Dust Bowl years, she had to set the plates and cups upside down so they didn't get too dirty to eat off of before the food got to the table.

Okay, Jan and Wendell (and Eugene if you still look at my blog), I'd love to hear the story behind this photo. Any details and memories you can add are appreciated!

Hey There!

I've had complaints that I'm not blogging enough, and I know the reading has been slim the past few months. We've been busy getting ready for Jessica to have her baby, and the garden did really well (I dreamed about canning tomatoes last night - does that tell you about my weekend?), and I've had the privilege of having nieces and nephews here now and again over the summer, but just haven't made the time to tell you much about any of it.

I really want to show you how Jess is setting up the baby corner of her room, but she wants me to wait until we've finished personalizing it, and we can't do that until Baby is here since we don't know if we're getting a he or a she.

I do have a few photos from her baby shower which was held a little over a week ago. Family and friends gathered to wish her well, and she had a wonderful time.

Grace and Taylor were such good helpers with the gifts. Taylor wanted every toy and rattle, saying "This is Tay Rae's". She was in charge of bringing me the trash, and being two years old, wanted to throw everything away. We brought the trash bag home and salvaged quite a lot of tissue paper and a few bows, but nothing major. In this photo, Hannah is decorating Grace's, er, behind while Taylor wonders why that bow wasn't thrown in the garbage bag. :o)

Everyone was very generous, and Jessi had such fun sorting through all of the sweet gifts the next day. Everything is washed now and ready to be put away until they're needed.
Doesn't she look cute? She won't let me post "belly" pictures, but she's looking wonderful. Remember to go fill out an entry for the baby pool. Just click on the red button on the top left column of this blog. It's easy and free, and you just may win the prize!

In My Life...

'Twas a long day of work, housework, then Jessi's dr. appointment in Lincoln, so tonight we're just watching "Biggest Loser" and I'm cruising blogs. I found this little quiz thing here and decided it would be fun.

The instructions are to copy and paste the list to your blog, highlight the things that you have done in your life and then link back to me so I can see your list!

1. Started your own blog
Three years, 11 months ago I started my first blog, Play For A Moment. On March 17, 2007 I wanted to share what we're cooking, so I started Living Dangerously While Eating. I've also contributed to a few other blogs.

2. Slept under the stars
Yeah, but not for years.

3. Played in a band
Just once, in elementary school. Had no clue what I was doing...

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower
I used to get the kids out of bed in the middle of the night and drive to the country to watch the Perseid meteor shower in August. The last time was five years ago when Jess and I took her convertible out and parked it in a cow pasture.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity
Yeah, but apparently I could afford it since our standard of living didn't change because of it.

7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
Disneyworld with Jess and the Benedict High School Band. I'd like for Nick and Greg to be able to see it, too.

8. Climbed a mountain
I love the Rockie Mountains!

9. Held a praying mantis
only to move it

10. Sang a solo
Not on purpose...

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
counted cross-stitch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning
After eating at a Mexican restaraunt - both Greg and I got sick.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables
Oh yes.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight
many times

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
I wasn't ill, but one of my children was. I've truly never called in sick when I wasn't.

24. Built a snow fort
Back in the olden days when we got lots of snow all winter long

25. Held a lamb
Petting zoos are great for this

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse
In elementary school

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
I see the sunrise just about every single day.

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise
Once to Alaska, once to Mexico

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community
South of Amana in Iowa, and kinda sorta in Virginia

36. Taught yourself a new language
not enough to be conversational, but I did teach myself quite a bit of Spanish when I worked at Head Start
Took German in High School since Grandma and Grandpa Regier spoke it often.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Money doesn't make for happiness, so no matter what our bank account says, as long as I have my family I'm satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance
Followed the ambulance transporting my son...

47. Had your portrait painted
pen and ink sketch drawn...

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain
:o)

53. Played in the mud
mud pies, mud cakes, mud goodies all around

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
I remember my parents loading up all five of us in our pajamas, blankets, pillows, and a grocery bag full of popcorn. Oh, and my first date was to the drive-in...

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business
home day care

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
I was an enthusiastic cookie salesgirl for many years!

62. Gone whale watching
near Juneau, Alaska - there were four whales all together and it was amazing!

63. Gotten flowers for no reason
gotta love those dandelions!

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Tried once - they finally got the needle in a vein, then took it out immediately. Ugh.

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
I don't think I ever could...

67. Bounced a check
way back in college when my mailed deposit arrived at the bank after my check...

68. Flown in a helicopter
from Skagway, Alaska to Denver Glacier and back. I hated it at first, but then decided it was really pretty cool!

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
a baby doll that my mom named Stacy - don't know where she is now

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Three times so far. One of my favorite places in D.C.

71. Eaten Caviar
Never thought I would, but it is SO GOOD!

72. Pieced a quilt
does a comforter or several count?

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
Driving it myself, thankyouverymuch! :o)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book
Been published in a book, but I didn't write the entire thing.

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car
Yes, and it hit 100,000 miles today.

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper
It's York - everyone has their photo in the paper at one time or another...

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House
stood outside the fence and ogled it

87. Nursed an animal back to health

88. Had chickenpox
Had everything - chickenpox, mumps, measles

89. Saved someone’s life
called 911 for my brother - don't want to ever have to do that again.

90. Sat on a jury
had to go through the selection process, but never got called

91. Met someone famous
Tom Osborne - he came into Village Inn when I worked there in High School. He is too famous!

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one
too many...

94. Had a baby
A couple of times. :o)

95. Seen the Alamo in person
It was a little overwhelming to stand there and know that so many people died...

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
I've seen it from an airplane...

97. Been involved in a law suit
only from a distance

98. Owned a cell phone
own it but hardly ever have it on

99. Been stung by a bee
You can read about it here.

Take a Guess!

Jess has just under a month until her due date, so I thought it would be fun to have a Baby Pool. If you want to take a shot at guessing stats, click on the button at the top left of my blog that looks like this one. You will go to the baby pool site where you can easily enter your predictions about baby's sex, birthdate, weight, etc.

I will have a yet-to-be-determined prize for the person who comes closest.

Here are a few facts that may or may not help you:
a. We do not know the sex of the baby.
b. Heart rate is consistently between 140-152.
c. She's carrying high.
d. She's measuring farther along that she is now, so the dr. thinks it will be a large-ish baby.
e. Her original due date from the calendar is October 4.
d. Her due date from ultrasound is October 2.

According to the dr., since it's her first baby, they don't want to induce labor. Even if you don't join in the pool, we'd appreciate your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery (and as close to the due date as possible - she will not entertain the idea that she could go overdue!). :o)

Reading time!

Wyatt has been sick for a couple of days and missed school on Friday. When they came up to watch the football game last night (GO BIG RED!), Leslie brought his homework along. He was tired and didn't feel great, but was kind enough to allow me to record him reading aloud for a minute. (Well, I told him it was for Aunt Tonita!) :o)

About that Garden

It's been awhile since I posted a garden update, and the change out there is significant.

We had a bumper crop of cucumbers and made what seemed to be bushels of them into pickles. I have pulled those up now. Except for the last batch of cinnamon pickles that will be done in a couple of days, we're pretty much over the pickle-making process. I do have to say, these were tasty cucumbers to slice up for supper, so I'm thinking the pickles will be delicious.

The green beans didn't do much at all. (Thanks, Leslie, for sharing yours!) Neither have the bell peppers.
The lone surviving jalapeno plant is doing well and I'll leave that as long as possible.

Carrots were planted late, so it'll be a few weeks before we harvest those. They look great, though.

We enjoyed lots of lettuce for fresh salads. Until the grasshoppers arrived. What was left has since bolted with the heat wave we had last week.

The herbs did great, and we'll be using most of them for several weeks yet. The dill, however, is done and is going to seed. It's also full of yellow swallowtail caterpillars. :o)

The forward portion of this update photo is the tomato bed. Eleven tomato plants in a 4 x 8 foot raised bed. What was I thinking?

Greg helped me put a light fence along the one side of the bed, and I tied branches onto that so I wouldn't have to dig so much to find the ripe fruit. Unfortunately that big storm we had a few weeks ago flattened the tomato bed - not breaking the stems, just laying everything flat. The tomato plants are so heavy with fruit, I can't pick the fence back up. Hopefully Greg will help me do that this coming weekend, and we can brace it so I can get to all the yummy goodness that is ripening out there. Oh, and next year we'll use a heavy fence with real fenceposts that will withstand the summer storms.

This year was the first with raised beds. There have been pros and cons, and once this year's garden gets cleared out, I'll make a plan for next year. In the meantime, the focus will be on tomatoes. Many, many tomatoes.

He's a Game Player

A couple of weeks ago when Wyatt was here, I started teaching him to play checkers. He caught on fairly quickly and we had a good time. Apparently someone was feeling left out... At first, Tucker tried to lay on the board, and he kept stealing the same red checker. He tucked in under his chest and laid on it and I had to dig it out. I kept nudging him off the board, and we'd continue playing.

Soon, he stayed off the board, but just barely. He watched attentively, easing back when I made my moves. Then Wyatt reached across the board for his "king". With no warning, Tucker began smacking the back of Wyatt's hand with both front paws!

Of course, that move startled us and kind of frightened Wyatt. I laughed, made sure Wyatt was okay, and petted Tuck's head so he'd not feel left out. I made my move, then explained to Wyatt what he could do with his pieces. He reached out to move his checker, and again, Tucker swatted his hand away!

This happened again the next move. Pretty soon, Wyatt didn't want to play anymore - "Tucker keeps smacking me!" - so I moved the cat away from our game so we could finish. We barely cleaned up the checkers and the cat was lying across the entire board, keeping it safe from the little boy. :o)

Baby Love

Like the song says:

"Cause baby love,

my baby love

Been missing ya,

Ooh, miss kissing ya"

We had Miss Reese here last week for several days and she was an angel the entire time. Something about a baby's smile and belly laugh that is good medicine for everyone in the room.

While she was here, she survived her first tornado siren and severe thunderstorm. We had to scoop her out of bed in the dead of night and drive to Greg's parents' house a block away in driving rain. She never flinched - slept through the entire drama.

One afternoon/evening she spent with her cousins, playing and laughing and getting worn out. :o)

There was lots of cuddling, rocking to sleep, nibbling toes, and kissing of her neck that happened, too. We loved having her here, and miss her terribly!

The Last Summer Day

Today was the last Tuesday of the summer that I had the kids since they all three start school on Thursday. We had such a fun day!

A good part of the morning was spent working in the garden, emptying pots and baskets of scraggly flowers, sweeping the sidewalk, and gathering piles of weeds I'd left around the back yard. They each earned a dollar for their labor, so they made sure they worked hard enough to get paid. :o)

Break time meant sidewalk chalk - lots of sidewalk chalk. So much so that they all had to strip down before coming inside, and I tossed their clothes in the washing machine.

After getting changed, we threw together some PB&Js and headed out for a picnic. Instead of eating here in the yard, though, we climbed into the car and drove the few miles to Stromsburg's park. My thought was that we'd have lunch, then possibly swim in the baby pool (if there were no babies there). They had other plans. As soon as they saw the big swimming pool, they would not even entertain the idea of just wading in the small one. So I took the plunge (so to speak) and as soon as the pool opened, we were heading to the locker rooms to get a shower "before entering pool area". I didn't have my suit, so just sat on the side of the pool with my feet in the water, and watched the kids turn into fishies before my eyes.

They had so much fun, and it was great to watch them go from timid and cautious to comfortable and confident. They'd not ever been to a big public swimming pool before and loved having the room to play. By the time we left, Wyatt was jumping off the side, and both Wyatt and Grace were putting their face into the water. Garett was pretending to be a shark, chasing the others back and forth across the pool.
Of course, no one wanted to leave when it was time to go, me included. Now I know that next summer we'll make this a regular activity. I look forward to it as much as they do! :o)

Feel "The Force"

One day a couple of weeks ago just Wyatt came for the morning. Leslie dropped him off with me in the parking lot where I work. As he jumped out of the van, I noticed two light sabers hooked on the waistband of his shorts. I asked if he was expecting an Imperial invasion and should I be on the lookout for Stormtroopers?

Later that morning we finished up our third board game. It was time get our bodies moving, but alas, it was raining outside. Wyatt invited me to have a light saber fight. :o) Sorry, I said, we can't play light sabers in the house. That is an outside game.

Please, Aunt Tammy?

No, Honey, it's an outside game.

We can just play right here in the living room... please?

(Sigh - how do I say no to him?)

We popped in the DVD of the very first original Star Wars movie (the best one in Greg's opinion, and the only one he owns) and selected the light saber fight scenes.

Thus began the re-enactment of Luke's light saber training and Obi Wan dueling it out with Darth Vader. We had spins and jumps and chased each other around the room. In the house.

On the furniture.

He kept saying I was Darth and he was Obi Wan. I told him I preferred to be Princess Leia. I mean, she was all over those light sabers in this movie. Okay, she wasn't, but I don't look like Darth Vader. Do I? Okay, I don't look like Princess Leia, either, but this is fantasy play, so go with it.

He was a worthy opponent and our duel ended in a draw. We both lost body parts - you know those light sabers are sharp - but neither of us gave in.

Fortunately there was no one there to take video of this amazing battle, but I do have a couple of "after" photos. We were both winners. :o)

After the Fury

Yesterday morning, shortly after 3:00, we were hit with an extremely strong thunderstorm. Straight-line winds measured at 78 mph caused major damage to the trees in our little town. This one was directly across the street from our house. It was planted just a couple of years before we moved here, so it was about 30 years old. Lots of the trees that were lost were much older. This is the extent of damage we had in our yard, and it's an easy fix. Greg will just nail the lattice back up. The lawn furniture in the front yard was untouched.

I don't know specifically what woke us up, but we both jumped out of bed at the same moment, 3:23. We lost power about 10 minutes later, then the tornado whistle blew. Fun times.
The power was back on by the time I got home from work about 8:30 a.m., and by 9 or so the tree across the street was gone.

There are drag marks on the streets all over town where tractors and chains were used to drag huge limbs to the dump. Chain saws buzzed all day long. The clean-up will continue as more damaged trees are cut down before they fall down.