I'm Slackin'

All my blog is hearing these days is the echo of chirping crickets. (That would not be me.)

I feel like it's been a hundred years since I've last posted on my blog ~ other than birthdays (which are very, very important ~ just ask anyone that I miss).  And, speaking of missing, I miss blogging.  Miss. IT.  It's my own personal therapy and it's relatively inexpensive.  The only thing it costs me is my time (which can be in high demand these days ~ making it pricey). And speaking of pricey ~ pricey things elude me right now.  They are far, far away.  And speaking of far, far away ~ my KY clan left yesterday afternoon to return to the other side of the Bay and then home.  Far. Far. Away.  So ~ I am making myself sit a spell and blog.  I'm in need of therapy. 

And in case you are wondering what I do besides ramble on ~  here's the low down:

First low down is I had to get up and tend to Baby Girl and it is now 2:21PM on Friday and I started this thing on Wednesday!

To continue on.  I've been obsessively playing with cotton ~ aka: fabric.  I am smitten with the stuff right now.  I have several projects in the works. 

One of the first ones completed was this trio of gems:

This is what they originally started out as:

Kelly wore this flannel shirt all thru high school.  I thought it was adhered permanently to her body.  When the time finally came that I could dispose of it, well, I couldn't.  I tucked it away for posterity, and I'm glad I did.  It made three cute stockings for three adorable grandies.  I also managed to get six little ornaments out of the scraps and was able to use those awesome buttons on them.  "Waste not, want not.", my mama used to say.

I've also been working on projects for my KY girls.  I will be excited to get them done and in their hands.  Some of the threads, aka: fabric, are vintage, let's say, around late 1980's.  Well, maybe old is a better description.  Vintage or old,  it sacrificed itself for the sake of cuteness.  Cuteness for my Ky girls. 

I'm beginning to think I have an undiagnosed addiction to cotton, aka:  threads, fabric.  I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame, a bee to honey, ketchup to fries, bacon to eggs, Singer to the machine . . . . . .  which is the whole reason I've rekindled my love affair with Singer.  God bless Issac Merritt Singer (and his rivals).  

Playing with fabrics is a "Happy Dale" deterrent.  For that, I am grateful.

Now, to avoid that which is L.O.U.D.L.Y. calling my name ~ you guessed it, cotton ~  I am going to force myself to do some laundry.  It needs to appear to those that are gone all day that I have actually done something productive with my time. You know how it is when you never have anything to wear.  We just don't want that reason to be the laundry's fault, now do we? 

Catch ya on the flip side  :)

Happy Birthday, Christian!

Happy Birthday to you Little Man!
You're moving right along.  Pretty soon
you'll  be an ol' Coot, you li'l Cuss!  (tee-hee)

I hope your birthday is as wonderfully special
as you are!

I love you to the moon and back again ~ several times

MOM-MOM

PS ~ I couldn't find any pics on FB to snag.  :(
What's up with that?

Happy Birthday, Nichole!

It hardly seems possible that you are already in college!  I want time to. Slow. Down! !  Anyway,
I found this lovely pic of you and it said:  "Use me, use me!  I'm a good one!"  And, you know me ~
not the one to pass by a good pic!

So, here's a warm, loving, emotional birthday wish  :) 

 

"You go Light Sabre Wielding Ninja Girl!  Defend our world with your awesomely refined skills.  I sleep much better at night knowing you are at the helm!"

Love you,

Aunt Crickett 

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Well, you're a quarter of a century.

One fourth of one hundred.

Twenty plus five.

 

You're catching up, slowly, but surely.

 

Hope you have/had a fabulous day!

 

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Aunt Crickett

 

(HAD to snag a FB pic!)

I Know This Day Will Come

I snagged this article from FB.  I changed a few of the words to suit me/mine.  If you read this, please understand, I'M NOT RE-WRITING THE ARTICLE,  just borrowing most of the wording. 

 

Letter From A Mother to Her Daughter Children

"My dear daughter child, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.

If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”... Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.

When I don’t want to take a bath, don’t be mad and don’t embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a child?  (I'm not sure this would ever apply to me, but you never know!)

When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don’t look at me that way... remember, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life’s issues every day... the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.

If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can’t, don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.

And when my old, tired legs don’t let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked.

When those days come, don’t feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love.

I’ll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had for you, I just want to say, I love you... ." . . . . more than words will ever able to express.

 

I don't know who originally wrote this, but it fits the bill in so many ways.  I have a hunch I'm not the only Mama out there with these same concerns.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2012

I'm feeling a little nostalgic today.  Not in a bad way or in an overwhelming way.  Just an "under the surface" way.  I think Thanksgiving does that to people.  It certainly does it to me. It demands that I reflect on what I have, what I've lost and what is important in life.  Sometimes that demand clunks me right in the middle of my forehead.  BAM!   Wake up and smell the coffee, woman.  Time is a fleeting thing.  Pay attention to the small things that make the world go 'round.  It's those things that you should be thankful for.  They grease the axles of life. They are the things that should be embedded in your memory bank.  Observe them.  Dwell on them. Cherish them.  REMEMBER THEM!   These are my commands to  myself.

But, I sometimes find it hard to swallow my own medicine, practice what I preach, do as I should and not as I want.  I let my OCD for a "perfect life" rear it nasty head.  I fall for it's trickery ~ It tells me: "People expect perfection from you."  "You are a failure."  "You can do better than that." "Speak only if you have something worth saying, and only then if you're asked." "You don't have time for that."   On and on and on it taunts.  It's hard to escape that which has been riding your coat-tail for so long.  It's hard to shake that "imperfect" feeling.  It.  Is.  A.  Daily.  Battle.  for me.  Daily.  To conquer that which is larger than life, to succumb to life as it is and not what I think it should be, and to remember that I am, after all, only human.  It is in my quietest moments that I can remember the important stuff.  When God nudges me to let go of those things that are irrelevant. Sometimes I can ~ sometimes I can't ~ either way, I am aware of it ~ all of it.

So. .  . here we go . . . .the second paragraph has my name all over it.

Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.

This may be my Thanksgiving Prayer for today and every other Thanksgiving and all the days between.

Things ~ They Are a'changin'

Life with a two year old is, and will always be, unpredictable.  We just crossed the potty-training hurdle.  I said before Baby Girl had an agenda all her own and she stuck to it.  We are done ~ literally and figuratively.  That girl does me in on a daily basis.  I have learned to pray every day to just be able to go with the flow, pick my battles and hunker down for the long haul.  When I remember to do that my day goes smoothly.  And by smoothly I mean I'm not the one crying at the end of the day!

Today was, for the most part ~ and I say that because the day isn't over yet ~ a good day.  Not much grief on the food issues.  Not much grief about obeying.  Not much grief about anything actually.  Our routine was smooth as glass.  

Baby Girl's new favorite "show" is Max and Ruby.  It was Helena's as well at one time.  I have a DVD of Max and Ruby and it lives in the player.  It plays whether she's watching or not.  I try not to listen.  Try. With all. My might. 

Anyway, we eat lunch anywhere between 11:15 and 12:00 depending on how starved Itty Bitty is.  I usually don't put her down until around 1:00.  That's what works for me. Or it had.  Until today.

After lunch, Baby Girl played with her stuff a tad and then crashed on the love seat to watch Max and Ruby.  Ruby and Max.   See, the song gets stuck in my head.  I walk in to get ready to prepare her for nap time and she has all her bedtime buddies in a pile on the love seat with her.  She asks for the blue fuzzy blanket and informs me she is going nite-nite, turns her head away from me and acts as if she's sleeping.  (I'm thinkin' ~ um, no.  You are not.  You are going upstairs.)  But, I humor her and leave the room for a bit.  Lo and behold, when I return she is out like a light. Out.  Out.  Out.  Good Night Nurse.  What's a body to do?  I just  pushed the ottoman up against the love seat and let her be ~ 'cause Mama said:  "You never wake a sleeping baby."  Not. For. Nothin'. 

And to add insult to injury, I look over at the sofa and there lays Audrey, upside down, giving me the stink eye because I had the nerve to flash the camera and interrupt her "nap time".  There's something terribly wrong here.  Terribly wrong. 

So, I'm thinkin', things are a changin'.  Yep. Yep, they are.

The Breathings of Your Heart

The quote on my side bar is very inspiring to me .  It's about putting things down on paper that titilate your heart.  But tonight as I sit here reading blogs from my Little Ladies, I realize that my family is the "Breathings of my Heart".  That is why it is so easy for me to share about them.  To write of their journeys, their personalities, their mistakes, their accomplishments ~ their wonderful. . . to me. . . lives.  It's their natural ability to love and encompass life that comforts me, that reassures me, and that gives me great pleasure in the journeys we travel together. 
I am truly blessed to have children, grandchildren, a brother, sisters, neices and nephews that inspire me.

This One's For the Two of You . . . .

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've last blogged.  Not that you two are much better I must say.  It only took Alicia an eternity to get rolling at a somewhat acceptable speed and Nichole ~ true to your blog name ~ you certainly are miserly with your posts!  But when you guys do blog, I certainly enjoy reading what you have to say about what's going on in your corners of the world. 

Oh, and FYI, I did blog over on my other blog just the other day. So. There.

With all that said, I shall move on.   I have been a little slack writing lately, but have been busy playing with cotton.  I love the feel of cotton ~ kinda like that commercial:  "The touch . . . the feel . . . of cotton.  The fabric of my life."  And I must say I have missed playing with it over the years.   I  have an agenda for that cotton in my life.  Can't share it right now, but I think it would make you guys happy as well.

So, this is a short, but sweet post to two of my favorite worry-warts.  It makes me feel good to know you are keeping tabs on me.

I love you both ~ never, ever doubt that!

Going to scoot before the hoard of youngin's descends upon me. (I know, it's only three of them, but sometimes. . . .)  I NEED to be ready!  I never know what shenanigans are coming my way ~ tee-hee.

Enjoy your day with your studious little noses pressed to those large, daunting books!

Love ya, love ya, love ya! ! !

Blueberry Babe

Sometimes Life gives you a bowl full of cherries ~ well, in this case a bowl full of blueberries.  Baby Girl is developing quite a fondness for fruit ~ most specifically (right now, anyway) apples, raisins, bananas and frozen blueberries.  She adores frozen blueberries and I need to be prepared to share my oatmeal if she realizes I have them.  This morning I opted to give her her own bowl of berries, to which she added her remaining raisins, while I ate my grub.  We chit-chatted about this and that as she savored her delicacies.  Then I look up from my bowl to see her smearing the blues on her finger tips.  When she saw me looking she nonchalantly informed me she was "painting" her nails.  Alrighty then.  And she was proud of her handiwork to say the least.  She didn't mind the photo ops this morning because her very own creation was center stage.


Painting of the nails

 

Let's show them off

And now ~ to enjoy the "fruits of our labor"

By the time she was done she was a lovely shade of blue!  I have this nagging feeling that she would have done very well in Biblical times using natural elements for beautifying herself.  Very well, indeed!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

In less than two hours, 25 years ago, you will have made your debut.  I would never have been able to comprehend the change you would make in my life. I still can't.  Just like your sisters, you rocked my world!  I pray for you the best life has to offer,  the ability to handle the junk it may throw at you, the compassion to love and understand those around you and the common sense to use all those gifts God has blessed you with to glorify Him. 

I love you, Ben ~ the Man ~ the Beast ~ my Boy.

MOM

 

Aaron and Hur

Dear Aaron and Hur,

     I am writing to let you know you've been on my heart a lot lately.  I'm not sure why, but I have been prompted to pray for my prayer team.  And pray I have.  I still need your coveted prayers. I'm still riding Life's crazy roller coaster. I'm thinkin' you guys may be as well! Just call it a hunch, but kindred spirits know when their best buds are "overwhelmed" or just plain "weary".

     Also, I wanted to let you know how much I have missed the both of you.  This past summer was so very busy and I feel I did not make adequate time for my two bestest peeps in the whole wide world.  Will you please forgive me?  I really need my Heidi Jane and Divine Di fix!  Withdrawals are not ~ I repeat ~ NOT pretty.  Not at all.  Can I just say: "NOT"?  I can?  Well then, NOT, NOT, NOT! ! !   Thanks.  That felt good. 

     And last, but not least, just wanted to remind you that I love you.

     Have a "Son" filled day!

Your MIA,  Aaron & Hur addict,

Barbie Annie
   

   

Quilt Love

I have renewed a love affair with quilting.  I can't seem to stop thinking about it.  It started when I re-organized a mass of sewing junk ~ which included, but wasn't limited to, unpieced quilt pieces and a quilt top that needed a backing.  I've tried to avoid contact with this fabric but it has been wooing me ever since I opened Pandora's Fabric Box.  Not to mention all the wonderful blogs and quilt sites I have discovered on the Internet showing me all the loveliness fabric can do!

I shall share a bit of the affairs of my heart with you as they blossom.  I am currently working ever so gently on that quilt top that was in Pandora's Fabric Box.  I have some ideas for it.  We shall see if they come to fruition.  Also in that box were some "Bow Tie" blocks that I took apart and reworked.  I'm thinking I may make a red, white and blue quilt using some of them. 

I made a sample "Pinwheel" block today using fall fabrics.  I'm likin' it!  What'cha think?

Now to decide if I want to make a quilt, a pillow, a wall hanging. . . . .  Whatever I decide, I NEED to do it and be done with it.  Too many quilt blocks and pieces lying around is akin to a monkey on my back!   And I hate monkeys on my back!

I am going to make another Dresden Plate Quilt.  I want to make:  a Bow Tie quilt, a Jacob's Ladder quilt, a Star quilt, a Rag quilt, a Nine Patch quilt. . . . on and on and on I could go!    The best thing about quilting in this day and time ~ the tutorials on line.  They make it so easy and show so many shortcuts and simpler ways to piece blocks.  No wonder I'm in love. 

And all these girls in my life!  They have to experience quilting at least once.  They just have to!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Hope you enjoy a wonderful day in the "Son"!

It's a lovely time of year to celebrate!

 

Love you,

Aunt Crickett

It's the Middle of the Week

It's the middle of the week.  A middle pretty much like any other.  Today, like many other middles, is beautiful.  The sun is shining, the wind's a blowin', the temperature is comfortable and all seems right with the world.  It is Fall, after all.

I say that now, as I sit here with my third cup-o-joe (the gnats claimed my second cup ~ sly little buggers!) and my oatmeal.  I know from past experience that that can change in the blink of an eye, or, by a puddle left behind by Baby Girl.  Oh yea, we are ~ dare I say it ~ potty training.  She seems to have her own agenda for this task and has yet to clue me in.  Some days are easy-peasy, others ~ can I just say ~  "I'm tempted to bang my head into the wall."?   Yes, yes I am.  But then things settle ~ only after I have a chat with God and am reminded that she's just itty bitty and that this too shall pass (hopefully in the toilet and not on my floor).  I know all too well that tomorrow I will look back and she will be in school, and a week from now, going to college.  I know it.  I see the evidence every day.  Sense a little nostalgia here?  Yea, me too.

Well, going to finish me eats, and me java, and go look at quilt pieces and ponder what to do and ask twenty-one million times:  "Do you need to go to the bathroom?". 

And. . . .

I'll see YOU in the funny papers!

Happy Birthday, Seth!

You guys are moving along quite quickly!  Can't seem to keep up with ages ~ 22 is it? 
Hope your birthday is as special as you are!

Love ya!
Aunt Crickett

PS ~  Sorry I couldn't find a pic of you that wasn't ancient.  I
can normally snag one from FB ~ but ~ no go.  :(

Happy Birthday, Todd!

Traveling up to the "Peak of Fifty" can be somewhat challenging.  Pace yourself. You have time.  Don't look "down" lest you should panic.  It's a glorious view at the top and a slippery slope down.

Happy Birthday, youngin'!

Barb

"Cheeseburger in Paradise"

Life is a "Drama Queen" sometimes.  And sometimes it's a "Barrel of Monkeys".  Today, it's a "Barrel of Monkeys".  Or more appropriately, today is a "Cheeseburger in Paradise". 

My boy bought this shirt at the end of the season to wear on that day when he chose to bid summer good-bye.  He thought today was as good a day as any.  So he donned his duds and headed out the door to hang with one of his buds.  (Do they even say that anymore?)

Words cannot express what the picture says:

 

The shirt has cheeseburgers and fries all over it (the "Big-Mac" type) ~ in bright oranges, yellows and tans.

His shorts are green and white pin-striped seersucker.

Green Polo golfing socks.

Orange, brown and tan Sperry's.

Pink Von Zipper hat.

 

Can I say more?  I think Baby Girl's expression says it for me.

 

He's going to try to convince his friend that they NEED SHOULD  run into town.  It takes a very secure person in their own skin to: 

1.  Think about such a concoction

2.  Wear such a concoction

3.  Even toy with the idea of being seen in public in such a concoction

4.  To GO into public in such a concoction

 

Secure, indeed.  That's my boy.

 

Now lest you think he's the only one of my youngin's to be so brazen, well, I have something in store for you.  :) 

 

Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Double Nickles today. 

They say it means a lucky year!

 

So. . . it must be:

55 ~ you

   40 ~ Jenny

  35 ~ Kelly

25 ~ Ben

How cool is that?

 

Love ya,

Barb

 

PS ~ stole the pic idea from Kellifer 



Happy Birthday, Jenny!

 

It's hard to believe it's been 40 years ~

seems like 40 seconds ago that I was

holding you like that!  Now it's two

generations later ~ rolled into yesterday 

and tomorrow as well!

Happy Birthday to my "Baby Girl".

I love you!

MOM

 

 



Happy Birthday, Joseph!

 

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Hope it's a great day spent

with family and friends!

 

Love you!

Aunt Crickett

Aunt "Ninny"

So, I'm taking a break from Summer blogging for just a few.  Life is running past me at blinding speed so I better keep up with the current events and fill in the past events when I can.  It's kinda like scrap booking ~ you do current pictures first, then tackle the older ones.  Makes no sense to me, but that's what I've been told works best in order to get things done.  And . . . I want to get things done, now don't I? So, that's what I do.

Any who.  Today my phone rang while Baby Girl was eating her lunch.  Every single time it rings she thinks it's Aunt "Ninny" because that's who she talks to on my phone. And it's usually around five o'clock  every day, so she usually gets to answer it herself.  But it becomes a battle of the wills if I get the phone first.  I'm talkin' wailing, flailing, rolling on the floor temper fit!  Thank you, Jenny.   But when she has her way and all is well, she will "talk" non-stop to Aunt "Ninny", filling her in about her day, I'm supposing.  It's mostly gibberish that only she understands but sometimes a familiar sounding word makes itself known . It doesn't help that she walks around like a teenager ~ doodling with things, staring blankly out the front door, leaning on a chair ~ the whole while saying her two cents worth. Me?  I'm waiting patiently for my turn.  Um. . . who's in control here?  Anybody?  Hello?   

Today, however,  she was eating her lunch and couldn't get to my phone.  I could see the anxiety on her face.  So, being the pushover good Mom-mom that I am (tee-hee), I let her answer and talk to Aunt "Ninny" (Baby Girl had to leave in a short bit and wouldn't be able to get her "5:00 call"). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She even talks to Aunt Ninny on her "play" phone.  All. The. Time.  She has even figured out how to charge her phone to make it "work", but then realized that she was tethered to the wall.  No to worry.   We'll just have a seat and talk while we wait!

 

 

It makes for an interesting day.  I have to watch her like a hawk.  We've had to hide the chargers and I have to put my phone up high. 

She's busy.

I'm tired!

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Hope it's a wonderful day filled

with wonderful family and friends!

 

Crickett

 

PS - snagged this pic from Sam's FB album

I'm good like that :)

Love your hat, by the way!

Summer 2012 ~ Part 6

We finally get Hopie at the beginning of July.  We had a blast celebrating the Fourth with her and other family members and friends.  It's way too cool to be able to just sit on our deck or swim and watch the fireworks put on by the Hebron Volunteer Fire Dept. No worries for parking, bathrooms or snacks!  Nothing beats a small town!  Not a thing.

Like her sister, Sarah, Hope also loves to scrap book and do paper crafting.  For her this go 'round it was scrap booking.  I figured if we didn't get to the paper crafting she wanted to do, Sarah could help her.  This is what my dining room look like for the majority of July.  It was only "cleared" away to make room for meals.

Actually, this is pretty clean compared to most days!

 

Hope was no different in her energy level.  We had much to do, but a little more time to do it in! 

Hope pressed on every day to work on her scrap book.  She was making a gift for her adorable little niece (my very first Great-grandie).  So every day we took out and put away the projects at hand.  Every.  Day.   

 

But when I they needed a break the Mario Marathon continued . .  . with the same scenario.  PTL for Ben ~ but he even grew weary at times.  Goldilocks showed him no mercy either (pushing him off the screen ~ by accident of course ~ or causing him to take a lava bath, or get eaten by those "things" that lurk around or by just being 7 and playing Mario).  But after much agony or maybe just the need to play the game, he would succumb to our their pleadings for help.  And all would be good for a while.

 

When we they tired of that, or Ben wouldn't help, they did the next best thing:  "Just Dance"!

Can I say hardwood floors come in handy when you have busy, energetic kids sliding around.

 

 

 

All furniture is moved back. Girls had to spread out lest one should get conked in the nugget. 
Don't mind the laundry basket ~ that's as far as I made it ~ or the lamp ~ we were still in transition with Kelly's move.  Such is life.  Just keepin' it real here.

To add madness to mayhem, Paul brought over bubble wrap for them to dance on! 

 

 

 

There were puppet shows to put on.  I'm so glad imaginations run rampant in our family!  I'm not sure, but by the looks of it, I think they paused Lion King to use as a backdrop. Don't quote me on that.  The puppet with the big blue eyes is Rease's.  She made it in school.  It scares people around here, so I'm told.




And of course, the trek to Tyaskin Wharf.  Word spreads quickly when treasures are to be found. The tide was too high again, but Hope did find a couple little doo-dads.  Not all was naught.



The Bear Hug!

The Treasures

 

 

Of course they swam in the pool, played, read, cooked and bickered.  But, all was well and right with our world.  Memories were made.  Lives were bonded together. 

 

 

Then, before we knew it, it was time to head back.  Where had the month of July gone?  It's never easy saying goodbye to your grandies.  Never.  My heart was heavy.  Very heavy.

 

Tears ~ an understatement.  I swear, I hate goodbyes.  JUST. HATE. THEM!

Summer 2012 ~ Part 5

The next few weeks will be a blurry whirlwind ~ non-stop activity ~ and gone before we can blink.

We picked Sarah-Sponda up the day after we got home.  The kiddos here were still in school and it gave Sarah and I some "one-on-one" time.  And let me tell ya, that gal kept me hoppin'!
She was able to go to Helena's awards ceremony and Rease's 5th Grade Night (which basically is 5th grade graduation ~ which means Rease is now in Middle School ~ another story by itself). Where has Time gone?  Away, you say?  I say, I must agree.

But until the other two were home for the summer we:
Visited Hobby Lobby ~ A LOT
We visited Goose on the Roof ~ A lot ~ my girl is hooked on antiquing and all things "Ball blue canning jars" ~ yep, and of course, vintagey, edgy, kinda girly in a 30's kinda way. We bonded like glue - me and her, baby, we were stuck like glue!
We she paper crafted ~ A WHOLE LOT (Sarah didn't scrapbook this time around, but that didn't stop her from buying scrap booking paper ~ you know, just in case) This is what my living room looked like for most of the summer:

This is just the floor ~ the desk was equally cluttered with paper goodness. She had all kinds of help from Itty Bitty.  I had have a desk behind the sofa (on that drop cloth you see there) that I was am going to chalk paint and put in the computer room.  Well, it was confiscated by Sarah.  There she sat, much of the days, paper crafting and watching Bones on Netflix. It had her ~ hook, line and sinker.  Now lest you think that's all this bundle of energy did, let me just add in a few more things that she/we squeezed into her agenda.  Let's see ~ there was the Mario Marathon ~ the more players, the merrier, but the more frustrating.  Death for someone was inevitable ~ usually at the hands of Goldilocks because she would get in fast and furious pace a "push us off the screen"  and kill us. Painful. But, alas, Ben, our "go to guy" would bail us out of hours of endless deaths trying to get from one level to the next so we could advance to another world ~ just to keep the insanity going!

Then we have pool time:

Sarah tried so hard to get Baby Girl to jump to her.  No, no, no.  Nothin' doin'.  So, next best thing ~ she just jumped in with her.  Itty Bitty is holding on to her goggles ~ just in case :).

We had to take a trip to Tyaskin Wharf.  Sarah wanted to go "treasure hunting" in the worst kind of way, but the tide was too high to travel to the "dig" site.  Maybe next go 'round?

Can you tell she's in Band Guard? 

 

But, I think the thing that was most enjoyable was Strawberry pickin'.  There's just something about that sweet, warm smell coming up from a sun baked earth ~ fruit leaving sweet scented stains on your hands, and the very sight of overflowing buckets of goodness picked by your own berry stained fingers!

 

 There's a "Squishy" in every pick!

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and

he shall be my Squishy . . ."  Dory - Finding Nemo

 

 

See those berries in that shirt?  They got us in trouble.

Well, we thought we could top off

another bucket we had ~ but they wouldn't fit.  We tried to look pitiful

when we went to pay ~ but the girl very politely said they only charged

for "full" buckets ~ indicating that we weren't getting those berries for free!

 (we could either forfeit our hard work or suck it up

and get another bucket and fill it using our shirt-tail full as a "jump start")

You didn't have to ask us twice!

 

 We made pies.

 

Sarah licked the goodness from the pot. 

 

Then we she decided, as if that weren't enough, to make Strawberry Bread, and Strawberry Muffins.

You use frozen berries for those two things ~ and I think we let them thaw a Little.  Too.  Long.

Our bread was soggy as were the muffins.  But. . . . they were tasty none-the-less.

 

Of course while she was here we had to have Delmar Pizza and WAWA hoagies!  An "Eastern Shore Thang" and a family tradition.

 

Although she was only here for ten or eleven days, we packed a summer full of activities in that time frame.

And tears fell like rain when we had to say "Goodbye".   I hate goodbyes.  Just. Hate. Them.


P.S.    We can't forget the Strawberry Shortcake coffe after a morning swim!

 

 





Summer 2012 ~ Part 4

On the road ~ again.  I hate good-byes.  Just hate them.

To take my mind off things I decided to try to photograph old barns along the way.  Seeing those old tobacco barns in Lexington triggered my excitement, but alas, I wasn't quick on the draw when it came to snapping the pics and I didn't get any of the tobacco barns.  My brain was daydreaming elsewhere I guess, but I did get other barns.

 

This is an example of some that I snapped as we moved merrily, but very quickly, along.  I love that you can see their age and purpose.  That they are still being used.  They stand like old friends, devoted to someone and their job.  I think I developed a love affair with barns on the trip home. 

We decided to take the alternate route home this trip.  Alternate being I-81 instead of whatever it was we took to get to KY.   I like this route.  It's a trucker's route.  It has inclines and declines that make your vehicle cry.  It has curves around the mountains that make you think for sure you're going to kiss your backside at any moment.  But it has some precautionary measures too.







 

The little yellow sign indicates a 7% decline.  Ultimately, you feel like you're going to top out

at ~ let's say ~ 125mph 500mph. 

All backseat drivers with good breaking skills are encouraged to use them!

Notice the vehicle in front of us? Yea, having a hard time staying in one lane.  I feel his pain.

Coming up the incline, however, I felt I could get out and run faster.  Just sayin'. 

It's really hard on your car, truck, van. . . . . .your heart.

 

 

 





This little sign tells you something your body already knows ~ for the next 1.25 miles you are going around a curve that could cause your car to come off two wheels (or more).  Please drive at 55mph.

Can we say: "kissing our tail lights here"?

 





Then we have these little gems tucked along the way for

comfort, reassurance and, well, in case you've topped out at

your maximum speed and things are looking a little hairy. 

They are designated for the "Big Rigs",

 but at 500mph, I have no pride!

 

 

But the real reason (as if taking our lives into our own hands isn't enough) we come this way is this little gem:



Tamerack.

The coolest rest stop I have ever seen.  It looks like something straight out

of the "Jetsons"!  It is a circular building with a court yard in the middle. It is

full of little shops featuring local artisans.  Pottery, furniture, fishing stuff, books,

nic-nacs, quilts, clothing, artwork, food ~ including a kiosk featuring Greenbrier.

Too many items to mention.  I could browse all day in this place. 

Most items are quite pricey ~ but the hand made quality can't be beat!

 

But, alas, window shopping must come to an end and we need to resume our homeward bound journey.  We are getting road weary (and a little woozy from all those ups-n-downs and round-n-rounds) and we all know ~ Time waits for no man.

So off we go ~ toward the Eastern Sho'.

 

 

 

 To break the everlasting boredom of the road, (yes, barns were eluding me)  I set my sights on other things to snap.  These looked like good specimens:

 

Who says water towers are hum-drum?

 

 

 

And then the occasional puffy cloud animal:

 

Baby Elephant in the sky

How'd you get up there so high?

 

And some twelve plus hours later we arrive in good ol' Hebron.

But, "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home". 

Unless, it's KY.

 

Then starts our summer back  here at the ranch.