Rainbows and Soups

I started out this morning putting a big pot of vegetable soup on to cook for lunch...and thought I hadn't seen anything as pretty as that in a long time. lol Then I saw this...
If you click on it and can see it bigger (I believe it will let you do that) look in the lower right-hand corner. Doesn't Anna look just as happy as could be, and awestruck by the beauty? THAT's the prettiest thing I've seen in a long time. ; ) Although this is a very close second. A rainbow, but not just a rainbow...a double rainbow! I was especially pleased with this shot of it. The darker band in between just makes it look WOW! : )

Berries and Jam

We went picking berries and cherries again. I picked raspberries and Daddy and Anna picked cherries, and we all picked blueberries.

I made raspberry jam and cherry jam and blueberry jam, and Daddy made a raspberry cobbler.

It took seven hours to get all the fruit picked through and jam made, and I'm TIRED!!

And I still need to get the dog walked! WAH!! lol

Volcanoes and VBS

Emma pulled out the volcano kit today. They worked on it most of the day, while watching movies.

When they were finished with it, Anna went outside for a while. I went out to empty some apple peelings into the compost pile, and she accosted me with a "I'm BORED!" I happened to be crossing the road and noticed at a little church up the road were cars, so I told her they were having VBS, and if she wanted to she and Emma could walk up to it.

She got really excited about it, and ran and told Emma. They changed clothes quickly and started off...all by themselves.

Lots of firsts there....their first walk somewhere alone...their first time being somewhere where they don't know *anyone*...their first VBS in a different church...actually, I believe their first time in a different denomination's church...

It was an experience for Daddy and me, too. lol We're not used to our little girls going off by theirselves! Daddy worried..."You know, it hasn't been that long ago that some people were run over on this road." Me..."When?" He... "You know that time those people were walking along the road and a drunk driver hit them." Me..."That was 60 years ago!" lol We walked up twice...once to find out what time it would end, the second time to meet them and walk back with them. They had a wonderful time, and are already planning on going back tomorrow night.

They were in different classes, which I don't really like...I'm kinda spoiled with usually being *with* them and talking Anna into Emma's classes, but this time I didn't get that chance. (Generally at our old church I'd give Anna the option to go into whichever class she wanted, and work it out with the teachers, and in other classes (not church-related) Emma's been in, if there was room Anna usually managed to get into it, too.)

Anna says she made a new friend today, and Emma says there is a cute boy there. lol They grow up SO fast! ; )

Berry Picking and Jam

We went berry picking today! Actually, Emma and I picked berries and Daddy and Anna picked cherries.

We got enough for a batch of cherry jam, and a batch of raspberry jam...ummm, good!

The raspberry jam smelled so good I slathered a piece of bread with the last bit in the bowl after I'd put the rest up. Ohhh, it was GOOD!!! If Heaven had a taste, that'd be it! ; )

The cherry jam tasted good, too, but didn't smell as heavenly as the raspberry.]

If if was really a good, conciencious blogger, I would have taken pictures through the whole process, and written a witty blog about it. Since I'm me, I'll just leave you wondering what it was like. ; )

Friday night we went to a Relay for Life walk...we had expected to see Elvis, but they couldn't get his CD player to work, and we got to hear one of my cousins instead. She has a really pretty voice. I'd heard her on her myspace page, but IRL she's better. ; )

The girls had a good time...Daddy didn't go with us, so it was just us girls, until we picked up my little brother and took him home. (He came with some of his buddies and I offered to take him home because I don't think teenage boys should be out driving around at night...it's not safe.) Anyway...the girls played tug-of-war and ate popcorn and snow cones and tried to rope a duck again (with good results...the woman *helped* the rope), and listened to a concert...a cousin concert at that!...and played with lots of kids, and talked to their aunt (well, Daddy's aunt) and met one of his cousins...lots and lots of fun. We didn't leave until 12:45 am...I was SO tired!

Digital Photography Class

The girls went to a digital photography class today. It's hard to take good pictures with my dinky little camera, but they're right in the center, if you look hard enough. They're looking very bored, because, well, it was a very boring class.

Daddy was excited about going with us today, because he's all into photography and all that, but this guy who did the class was so extremely boring even Daddy had to admit it was dreadful.

They stuck it out for the snacks at the end...and the drawing for prizes. ; ) Although, Anna did get out of her chair and crawl through the floor a bit....and we went out until the end, then came back in. ; )

On another subject...

I've been working in apples. The neighbour's apples are starting to get ready, and I slithered over there yesterday and picked up a laundry basket full, and have dried two batches (dehydrator full) and put two bags of them in the freezer for cooking later. I wasn't feeling very good yesterday, which is my excuse for not getting more done. I think I had some sort of virus, because I was achy and icky feeling. A 24 hour virus, I guess, because I felt okay this morning.

Anyway...

I cut our hay (most of it, at least) Tuesday, and raked it up today, and we got a trash bag almost full! I was impressed by how much it turned out to be.

The Tempest

We went to see a live performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest today. (The pic is the girls onstage before it began.)

I was expecting a quickie...half-hour show. It was two hours.

But GOOD. We really enjoyed it. (One of the actors thought Daddy was a critic he'd met before. lol Maybe that's why it was so good. "There's a critic in the audience!")

It was an outdoor theatre, and a wild turkey walked past just before the show started. I asked the girls where else could they see wild turkeys and Shakespeare at the same time. ; )

Daddy, Emma and I had never read it, so Anna told us about it on the drive over there. So cute! ; )

Swing Dance Class

The first meeting of the *far* library's summer reading program was a swing dance class.

I can't post a picture of Emma dancing, because she sat the entire time.

Anna danced some, but sat down whenever the instructor suggested she practice with one of the (4) boys.

I thought of getting up and dancing with Daddy, but my knees, you know... ; )

Emma wouldn't even get up for a snack, but as we were going out the door she asked me to pick her up a couple little candy bars and a brownie. ; )

We Saw a Bobwhite!

It was in the apple tree in our neighbour's backyard, across the fence from our backyard.

I kept hearing an odd noise today...kind of like a dog yelping...yiP! yiP!, so I finally went out to see what it was. Once I got out there I could tell it was a bird, so I started following the sound.

It's just a young one, which, I suppose is why it's not saying "bob-white" like it should. After the girls went out to see it and Emma whistled for it, it had started adding in a bit of a beginning note. : )

SO pretty.

Char-bequed Chicken

I had a great idea today.

I'd stick some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot with a bit of bbq sauce and have supper made without heating up the kitchen too much.

When it was time for supper, I was a *bit* afraid of them...crockpots not heating food enough to kill bacteria and all, you know...so I stuck them in the oven for a few minutes.

Which streached into a few more minutes, until one of the girls turned them off for me.

So now we have char-b-q chicken for supper. It still smells good enough to attract dogs and cats, though. ; )

What's New?

I've been running and running this past week, and haven't had time to blog at all.

Not to mention no time for anything else, either.

Daddy is working on Mom's house, closing in her back porch to make another bathroom, and we've been running to the home improvement store EVERY SINGLE DAY! He's gone there right now, but I refused to go. I want to STAY HOME!!!

My knees were hurting so bad Friday when we went he made me ride in a wheelchair. I felt rather silly, but there was no way I could have walked through the store. My way of dealing with it was to sit on the patio furniture while he shopped, but he wanted me with him.

Did I blog about my knees?...no I didn't, did I? Anyway, brilliant me was standing on a high chair (yes, baby's highchair) trying to reach something and fell off. I landed on my feet, and haven't decided yet if it was a good thing or a bad thing. If I had landed on something else, my knees wouldn't be in such bad shape now. OTOH, I could have broken my neck. Anyway... I re-fractured my left foot, and hurt both knees so that I couldn't walk...I believe it was Tuesday - Friday. Friday night I gave in and took a Tylenol, and Saturday woke up to no pain! Yay! Then, brilliant person that I am, Sunday I jumped to reach the limb of a tree, and guess what? Yeah, they're hurting again. Oh, yeah, and Thursday I stepped on a nail, which went through my shoe and into my right foot, so, left foot is fractured, right foot is really sore from puncture, and both knees are aching to beat the band.

So I rode in a wheelchair.

But a really cool thing...DH and I were at a flea market (seeing if there was any of that stuff we so desperately need, y'know) and an old school friend of his asked if he'd drive her and her mother home. She then turned to her mother and said, "(DH's name) will drive us home, he's a preacher." I thought that was cool. It's the first time he's been publicly acknowledged as a preacher, outside of church.

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to the little church up the road, and Anna sang! She was so nervous her voice was quaking, but it was SO sweet. Emma went with mom, so she wasn't there, so Anna sang alone, and did a beautiful job.

It was a nice little church, the people just talked amongst themselves, prayer request mixed in wherever they remembered them, a little discussion of the Bible, and they asked Daddy if he'd like to say something. I was amused by what he said...most of it was things I've said to him; and here I was thinking he wasn't listening. lol

Afterwards we went to my aunt's birthday party, at a park, where I jumped and spent the rest of the time there in pain. Anna played in the stream and found a snapping turtle, fish, crawfish, and a salamander.

Today I've stayed inside most of the day. I got up early and got laundry washed and hung outside, so during the hottest part of the day I was inside with the AC going. I had planned to cut our hay, but the clippers are too dull, and Daddy was off working on Mom's room, so I couldn't get them sharpened. So I napped instead. ; )

Law of (Opposite) Attraction

Last week I found The Secret at the library.

It sounds like a good idea...it may work...I *do* have an Oscar Mayer weiner dog, just like I wanted.

So I tried it. There was a used book sale, and I was thinking $100 would cover gas and food and books. I visualized, asked, believed....but didn't receive.

Today I found out why.

My sister came up to Mom's, and as usual I went up to talk, and she told about her week. Last week a man ran into her car in a parking lot, and acted really nervous about calling the cops, and since it wasn't too bad, she offered not to call for $100.

Yeah. Guess what day and what time it happened.

SAME darn time of the same darn day I started thinking of getting $100.

Perhaps if I visualized *her* getting $100, I'd get it. hummm.......

Yeah.

Snake in Yard...Must Blog....

Anna went out on the porch, and saw a snake in the yard! She (and Emma and I) had *just* been outside in the yard, and had missed it.

There was a blue jay scolding at it, and she saw first the bird, then the snake. We think it's a brown water snake...which is odd considering we don't really have any water close...a usually dry ditch, and that's it. It has rained a bit lately, so he may have followed one ditch to another and got here that way.

However he got here, he simply couldn't stay in my flower garden! (Echinacea, for those who wonder)

Daddy shoveled him into a bucket...spitting and wriggling (the snake, not Daddy, although he did do a bit of spitting himself..."It's striking! I think I should kill it!"...) and they're gone to let it out near a pond.

I, of course, stayed home to blog.

It's the first snake we've seen close since we moved here...6 years in June. Our last house had snakes everywhere...literally. It was built on stilts over a stream, and there were water snakes there, blacksnakes on the porch eating the bird eggs when birds had nests there in the spring, and the absolutely biggest ever king snake in the front yard. I swear, it was as big around as my forearm. (And I'm not exactly *skinny* lol)