checking in

I have had a time of trying to find time for everything (mostly daytime sleep), with working my 3rd shift job (which I love !!!). Time is always a theme with me. Ongoing.
Lately, finding myself daydreaming of years gone by when the kids were young and we used to have blanket picnics in the yard and read books under the shade trees and blow bubbles and eat watermelon slices and watch the clouds move across the blue skies. *sigh*

What's new?
school is done for the summer for 2 of the kids
a 16 year old now with an official driver's license
an almost 20 year old with 2 jobs
an 11 year old with big plans for summer camp.

What I want to do:
* ride my bicycle even more
* rearrange my bedroom
* porch needs attention for the summer
* organize those papers on the computer desk that I don't want to have to look at but still need to retain and corral. Luckily it can be done with a great storage box covered with colored pencil looking bird art images on them that I found for $2 a few days ago. I do love bird art, especially when just $2

What I need to do:
* figure out why all my flowers I just planted are dying already
* repaint the mailbox
* take more clothes that are too big (yep, too big) to the Goodwill

A Rambling written jumble- little bit of everything- Post

We have been trying to accomplish a lot of yard work lately to be ready for a (belated -by the time we will be ready!) Sweet Sixteen party for E. in July. 

I recall my sweet sixteen party as being the best birthday of my life so far.

I had many, many friends and relatives - young and old alike- attend my party that my mom had catered, and also friends and relatives brought food too. So much yummy food!!

My cake was wonderful...it was made by my sweet sister-in-law, S. It was shaped like a grand piano and the icing was pink and very ornate. The legs and keyboard and music stand portion of the grand piano cake were plastic . I was a learning phase pianist at the time. I haven't played for years, so although I can still read music, I would be very rusty to sit on the piano bench and tap out some songs.

Anyway, back to the yard work. Today wouldn't you know it= it thunder stormed almost the entire day!! I LOVE thunderstorms but I had a list about as long as my arm of things I either needed to do or needed help to do-- OUTSIDE!! In the evening we finally were able to get out and E. helped me to spread grass seed under the pines we had trimmed. It is a vast area of nothing but dirt now with weeds wanting to take over. We had filled in holes the dogs had dug and leveled it out--that took forever- weeks. I am going to rent the dogs out for trench diggers or grave diggers.

Our dog, Socks, is going nuts lately trying to chase the chipmunks that have taken up residency under the porch. A's outside Fluffy cat, used to catch every chipmunk that made the mistake of moving into our yard. Unfortunately, Fluffy got sick and died in just a couple of days' time back at Easter time. She misses him dearly.

Fluffy used up all 10 of his 9 lives!

Fluffy lived a dangerous and wild life. He was adopted as a kitten from the barn where E. used to take English riding lessons. Once when he was about 2 yrs old he was seriously injured from being in a very terrible fight and was stapled and stitched back together. He was so badly hurt and the vet was actually not certain he would survive being mended. ( The vet got almost all our tax refund money that year! Yep, spent on the CAT.). He survived to be beat up many more times, thankfully less seriously, in his night time travels into the rough world of a country woods, curious and adventurous (neutered) male cat.

In other varying mixed topics today...

We also took care of all the large limbs that came down about a week ago off the Cottonwood trees  that seem to reach to the clouds in their grand heights. They are very fragile in high wind and the whole back section of the back yard looked like a tornado had visited, though only strong straight line winds had come through . There were many minor tornadoes nearby our town that day. Lots of trees uprooted and trees snapped off.

The honeysuckle is blooming-- right among the poison oak-- on the fence by the woods!!!

 I worked a little bit on my fern jungle situation in the front yard too, thinning them out so my perennials can be seen!!

The best part is that we finally got some vegetables planted yesterday. Six different varieties of tomatoes, some eggplant, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and our new try at celery. Each year we try to grow something new to us in the garden.

Hopefully tomorrow it will not rain so I can get someone to help work in the yard some more!!

Last Snow?

Just look at that brilliant sky! How can you be unhappy with a sky this beautiful above you?
Last week we had a big snow. Not like the feet of snow that we had when I was growing up, but snow enough to cover the surroundings like so much rich yummy frosting. Is this the last snow of the season in Ohio until the end of 2008 when the snow will return?
I love snow.
There. I've said it. My family and friends are sick to death of hearing me say it. Everyone around my town seems to hate snow. I love it. Could live with it 12 months out of the year.
I am in the extreme minority, it seems, with this seemed craziness.

If I could have all my favorite flowers in a humongous greenhouse so as not to go without that love, all would be perfect beyond my dreams. It would have to be a greenhouse with lots of planting beds so I could dig in the dirt. I love digging in the dirt. I love the smell of the dirt. I love getting dirt under my nails (I clean it out as soon as the digging is all finished, let me assure you). I would have my snow, glorious snow and my greenhouse- surrounded by snow.

I love the anticipation of a snow storm. The not knowing how much God has decided to let fall upon the Earth. The weathermen all think they know. They don't.

These are photos I took around my neighborhood last week. A spring snow. I love Springtime snow. It is always heavy and wet. I know. I'm crazy. I've been told that --at least once, or a hundred times. I like to stand outside after a snow storm and just listen the quiet.

Maybe I need to try to explain away my craziness.

It's not that I don't enjoy April showers and jumping into puddles wearing my "puddle ducks" and laughing at the raindrops, sheltered under my umbrella.

I do enjoy sitting with family and friends on a warm July 4th evening watching the fireworks explode over our heads in the summer sky.

I especially enjoy the crisp colored leaves crunching under my feet as I embrace an almost painted-like October Ohio day.

It's just that I do not fare well with the HOT, sticky, humid, Ohio, long, drawn out months. There are actually only 3 horrible weather months (in my own opinion). Everyone else would say,"Yes, the months it snows."

Nope. Not my response. I feel... well- just yucky when it is above 95 for days on end and high humidity. I actually spend more time in the house in the summer (air conditioning turned to "Arctic") than I do in the winter.

No cabin fever here!!!

My Dad is the opposite. He says it is not hot enough unless he can work outside with his shirt off. And he loves it when it is 90 or above.

He is 81 years young and still VERY active. He thinks he is still 50 and I'm glad of that. I want to be like that when I am 81.

He lives each winter in Florida along with just about half the population of the senior citizens of Ohio, it seems. He has a house on the ocean water on the gulf side. Summertime he lives here in Ohio. He is threatening to stay much longer in Florida this year because of the snow not wanting to just go away. My snow!!

And don't even get me started on the mosquitoes in Ohio!!

My whole life I have always swelled up like a balloon from those hideous bites. I have to take cover in the house when everyone else is outside enjoying the cooler summer night air, cuz that's when the mosquitoes come out to feast on Amy. 

And poison ivy/poison oak too! If it is blowing in the wind- somehow, I will get it. I get it with a secondary infection and a trip to the doctor and sometimes even the emergency room. So summer means I end up- sweaty clothes, itchy skin and cloistered-- safely inside the air conditioning. But snow. SNOW. Safe... cool, non-itchy.

I always say, "you can always put more clothes on if you are cold~~but if you are naked and still hot...THEN WHAT?

Oh. By the way...

Unless you didn't think I was crazy enough.

I rarely wear a coat unless it is colder than 20 degrees outside.

Come visit me any time at the loony bin. My name is permanently carved into the door.

10 Things I Like To Do Outside During Summer

Note: These two little pictures are my own drawings that I did in colored pencil. I matted them this morning with card stock.

1. I really enjoy digging in the compost pile in the backyard and finding lots of wiggly worms busy at work. I have wonderful rich soil under the surface of the compost and the worms are the reason!!

2. This kind of goes with the first one...I think it is fun to get really, really dirty while gardening and then shower all clean with some yummy smelling shower gel.

3. Have you ever just reclined in the grass and looked up into the tree tops? I think it is a very peaceful, almost meditation type, thing to do.

4. Can anyone ever grow out of the fun that is riding a bike? I hope not! It brings so much to your senses.

5. I get a thrill out of finding interesting dead wood branches that fall from our tall trees. Some of them are truly nature's art.

6. I like the smell of the wet dirt after a summer rain. I adore going out to jump in puddles with the kids.  (I just noticed that a lot of these thoughts include "dirt"!!)

7. On rare occasions I get the chance to sit in the shade and read. When I do get the chance, I wish I could change my name temporarily to something other than "MOM!". Sometimes in my lap it's decorating magazines or papercrafting/scrapbooking magazines. Sometimes a non-fiction book.

8. We go to the cemetery and feed the ducks in the big pond. It is a perfect way to clean out all the stale bits and crumbs of crackers, cereal and the like from the pantry. I also like to hang out in cemeteries cuz it's in my blood (read more cemetery posts for that info!)

9. Strangely enough, I like to wash windows. I don't do it as often as I should - but the sparkling satisfaction of clean glass makes me happy and seems to make the house almost smile!

10. The kids and I build "fairy houses" in the front yard in an area where the grass never grows. We use sticks, leaves, moss, ferns, pine needles, shells, stones and other nature things. We have done this for about 10 years. It is like a whole village!! Their friends love to come over and build too.