My goodness......

  I can not find the time or the brain power........We had a week's vacation at the first of the month. It sure was nice. Everyone asks where we will go. We don't really need to GO anywhere. We love our home and we live in a great place to take day trips so why spend the money to stay in a motel and the gas to get somewhere else?
One of the things we did was go to Branson for afternoon/evening. Nice drive over. Haven't been there in over 20 years. We went to the Titantic museum first.

Here's the outside. You are not allowed to take pictures inside. Kinda cheesy if you ask me. What are folks gonna do? Make more money off the stuff than the family that owns the stuff? They have 2 museums..that irks me. I loved being able to see the real artifacts from the ship but one in Branson and one in/Dollywood Pidgeon Forge? That's all about the money. Frustrating.....

Here's the Branson Belle. We went on a dinner cruise. Paid extra to have private dining. Met an older couple celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary. We were celebrating our 29th. They were nice folks. From Ozark haha...the dinner was interesting. I had steak and fish with beet greens salad with walnuts. Wild rice was awful but I liked the mashed potatoes that Tim had with his steak. He didn't eat them. I can't even tell you what was in them. Tried to figure it out but wasn't able. haha

It was neat to "take a ride on a riverboat". One of my favorite songs by the way.

Here's the silkies that Mike so generously gave me. Aren't they just the cutest things? They are blue. Lay tiny little eggs and I hope they are wonderful setters. That's the plan anyway.

Here's "Momma Barn Cat" and one of her little ones. We call him the stripped one. Aren't we original? The white one is still camera shy. He is colored somewhat like a siamese but is getting lighter by the week. Haven't seen the other grey one since momma took them on their first hunt in the woods. Coyotes or just opted to live in woods? Will never know.

  Back to vacation. We didn't get home til after midnight and not to bed til after 2 so the next day was hang out at home and veg out.

  The following day we met Jeff and Pam in Holiday Island for a bike ride. It was the hottest day EVER in Arkansas! Great timing. We rode to the Mulberry grocery store at Cass. Been there over 100 years. Three buildings later they are still renting canoes etc. The ride down was great! Had a snack out of the microwave and a few bottles of water to replenish us.

  The ride back on the other hand started to suck really bad after about an hour out. I had to make several extra stops just to kinda revive in air conditioning. The kids didn't mind at all. Neither did Tim. It was over 110*! Was like driving though a blast furnance. Having my face shield down was cooler! Can not imagine how Jeff and Pam did it with no helmet.

    By the time we made it to Ann's I called it quits. Ask Tim to go home and come back for me in the van. Another 60 miles round trip. He didn't hesitate. I stayed and got to visit with the family and watch Jax play. He looks just like Jeff! Tim took care of the animals while he was home etc and we stayed for dinner and a visit when he returned. We got home after midnight again that night too. After the lousy hours I sleep and etc and suffering from exhaustion I'm proud of myself.

  Oh, had a dr's appt in there somewhere too. My thyroid number was only half better so we upped my med and hoping that will make the difference. Keeping fingers crossed and saying prayers.

  The next thing on the agenda was a drive-in movie with Sandi and Ralph. We've been wanting to go for several years but the timing was always off. We saw Transformers3 and Cowboys vs Aliens. Both just pretty dang good. Had no idea what to expect from Tr3 but it was better than ok. Cboy was funny, like expected. Hope to do it again before they close for the season.

  Guess I better quit for the time being. Got out of town, never met before company coming this a.m. to do a little genealogy. Tim's third cousin on the Cherry side.

Almost good as new?

  Our computer that is. ...Good grief, it was quite the week with a virus infecting our "rock and chisel" computer. The poor thing is memory challenged to the max. But.....with patience and perserverance(sp?) and both of us working in 12hr shifts we were able to isolate the dang thing and get rid of it and able to repair the poor thing. Thank you to the makers and to the antivirus folks.
  I've only gotten one lap blanket made but will start another today. Yesterday went to breakfast with Tess. After that we went garage sale-ing and to the flea market. Full day to say the least. Hate to be wore out by an 87 yr old! Of course after that I had to go to the grocery store. I made that an emergency run and only bought what I needed for a few days instead of 2 weeks. haha
  Temperatures are still in the 100's and pasture is beyond crunchy. The banties are settling in okay. They are still leary of venturing out into the back yard but doing nicely. Tim was finally able to kill the snake that has been haunting the yard and barn. Last night the dang thing was coming out of the chicken house as I was shutting the door with a poor frog in his mouth. Looked like a monster from the scifi channel. It was really funny looking.  The frog's head and front legs were sticking out of the snake's mouth. What a mutant!

Tim had to put another bale out last night. Gonna be hard to put hay up for winter when we have to feed and it's July!

Had a nice visit on the phone with my big sister this a.m.. hoping this week we can all get together for a visit at one house or another.

This is my horse guy  weekend online so gotta go watch my horseman.  

Sultry Saturday?

  Is that the word I'm looking for? sultry- oppressively hot and moist  Yep, that's the word.
Had a fun day with family yesterday even though it was only a grocery run. Went to Monett with Sandi and Mike. We all had a little shopping to do. To WM and then to SAL.

  Here's the clothesline I won't be using until winter time! Was such a good idea. Maybe if hell freezes over I will use it again in the summer with all the dang spiders.
  Got one of the lap blankets half done. Gotta do the simple quilting on it - with the machine and very few lines is all that is required. I topstitched around the border which is not normally done. I think it just gives it a little more finished look.
  I meant to ask Sandi about when do I know the buttercup squash is ready. Dadgumit! Maybe she'll comment here?
  I think Mike's plan is a good one. Hope he follows through with it. At this stage in life it may be harder than he thinks. I'm sure he can -

I really don't like our front porch. If I could have my dream porch it would run the link of the house and have a roof. Lots of chairs to rest in and lots of shade for the house. Oh well.

Here's some cute recipe cards. It's for a food party. haha The officer on the scanner just said "FYI, it's raining in Butterfield." Sure wish it'd rain here - one mile away and yet so far far away! Went and got yesterday's mail and no sign of rain at all. Not even one tiny bit. Got clouds/haze but thats it. Well, maybe this afternoon. There's always a chance. Right? 

Editor has gone nuts again. I sent a few more pictures to Jenny and Lorraine. With a few questions also. Maybe have more stories to share about the folks. 

Speaking of dreams. Wish my barrels were lined up like this in the corner of the garden spot. The metal ones are alright but I've decided that plastic is the better answer. Rust is an issue with the metal. The plastic will be here long after I'm gone.

Here's last year's picture of Franni and her two kids. Jordyn and Izabella. Wish she hadn't used the z haha. Will just make it harder on her daughter. Everyone will be trying to correct her as she grows up. So cute.

This goes back so far that Jr Mom is carrying Aunt Jo! Pretty cool.

The baby on the top right is Jr Mom. Another wonderful picture that Sharon shared with us.

And a great picture that Kate shared. I believe she needs a new pair of boots!

                                                                                            

Throwaway Thursday and behind in posting haha

  Haven't taken the time to post for a few days. Been busy doing other stuff. Working on family tree stuff a lot and you can use up an amazing amount time doing that. Mounds of paper work! And reading. Of course I love to read so I can get so engrossed that time gets away. I received a picture of an ancestor this past week that I've never seen before. Ran into a lady of our Rethford line back to James Samuel Rethford ( the ex husband of Rachel Wester etc)he abandoned/or something her and John Allen in some way. Anyway, she sent me a picture of him. Too cool. That's him over on the left. Handsome feller isn't he?

This is one of my favorites of Juanita as a little girl. She thought she might have been about 10. Puts it right around 1919 or so. Look close. You can see her in there.

This one is food for the day.

And how about some Christmas candy? Peanut brittle anyone?

Just got back in from outside stuff. Got a plant put in the ground and watered the rest. I'm thinking for now that I'm done planting. Need to move some things around this fall and hoping to get another fruit tree or two. We'll see.

 I've waited all this time for my tomatoes and danged if the place didn't mis mark the tom! It is NOT a Cherokee purple as marked and anticipated! Oh, that upsets me. Seems to be taking way too long for the dang things to come on anyway. Even the cherry tomatoes are slow going. Plants look good but not producing worth a crap.

  Talked to Kate this week. Everyone that way doing alright. They are going on a short vacation to see Annette's family in Ohio. Hope they have a safe and fun trip.

  Started this early and just now getting back to it! Gotta go find something to throw away!

One more thing. Was 104* at 5pm when I went to fill tanks AGAIN. Poor babies.

Finally Friday

  Good morning! Barely. Almost noon and I'm just now getting around to posting. We have another heat wave coming. Yay. (insert sad face here) Feels like August or September. I'll try not to complain because I know when it gets cold I will be miserable. I will miss the sun and the heat.

 Maybe not this much heat though!

Then there was this.....

too dang cold!

Guess it's the price we pay for living in these fine Ozarks. Seriously, having four seasons etc. but the plain old fact is ...it's home.

Been home for this family since 1837 plus or minus a year or 2. That's 174 years. Guess we're meant to be here. We're 5th generation Missourian on dad's side and 8th generation American on both sides. We're only 3rd generation Missourian on Momma's side as they were a  little slow making their way to Missouri. They really liked Indiana. lol  Pop's daddy came down here from Indiana. One of his (Albert's)uncles was in Springfield by 1900. Maybe he was here when Albert came or maybe Albert came with the uncles and his family.

Sparky sure was a good dog.

Hodge Podge (as usual)

  First thing: Dishwasher soap recipe- 3c baking soda
                                                             3 c Borax
                               for rinse cycle- vinegar
Not that I have my dishwaher actually in the house. It sits in the shop, waiting. One day I'll tire of being the dishwasher and have Tim install it.lol

Next tidbit: 10# of taters will yield 7 qts of canned taters

                   And three 100' rows of taters will yield about 500#.  A family of four using 10# a week=520 # a year... adjust accordingly and don't forget to keep some back for seed!

Isn't this fascinating? 
  Here's my tiny tater patch from a few years ago.

 This year the same patch is an experiment in weeds. Seeing how many different kinds I can grow and see how big they will get. It's coming along nicely. lol
  I've got one buttercup squash growing. It looks pretty good and is just a bit larger that a big softball. I've never eaten one.

Here's a little fry bread to make you hungry.

The afore mentioned squash plant.

Finally got my clothes line washed. Too many years of guck on it. Tim tightened it up for me too. Still stretched too far out - had to hang the towels "sideways" haha

Here's the first "Five Generations" picture that I was talking about. I sent it to Jenny and Lorraine this week. Left to right: Ira, John Allen (Ira's dad)Juanita, Momma, Sandi and Allen. Aren't you two just the cutest little kids?

Just about used up for the morning. Actually we're into the afternoon now. Time to rest my bones.

Some days are diamonds. Yesterday was a stone.

Mellow Monday

  Due to the heat wave we're experiencing, I predict a mello Monday. Too dang hot to move!
We topped out at 103.1 yesterday! Heat index in Monett-113* I think they said. Enough already.

Tim got the whole yard and the orchard mowed. Didn't have to work on the mower either! Oops, not the whole back yard as he can't get the rider in the "garden" spot or the berry patch. Still watching for snakes there. The only snake I found this morning was in one of the front yard flower beds. Dadgumit! At least I saw him while he was 3' away. I left him alone as I didn't want to walk that far for a weapon. lol
 Tim also washed the bike here at the house. Normally he washes it in town.
 Guess I'll crack the windows in the vehicles today in case gramma was right. lol Might get hot enough inside to crack them with the built up pressure. Something like that. Did she ever tell you guys that?

What a looker! I love this picture of Momma. It was taken on the Springfield square. She was around 16 I believe she said. Just at a glance she reminds me of Franni and of Ashley.

Here's one from the way back machine that only goes to about 1983-84 maybe.

One day she will be our RV. If we live long enough haha. Gonna take such a lot of work.

Now for some food

Homemade sandwich bread. I could eat my weight in this stuff! Oh, look at me, I probably already did....

Marie's Creamed eggs - to be applied to buttered toast according to Tim. Dry toast works just fine.

My homemade dinner rolls. Pretty dang tasty if I do say so myself. Yum-oh !

Some days are diamonds!