Abby's riding solo

That’s our Miss A in the white helmet, riding her horse out of the barn.

And she’s off.  Her Mama posted a video on Facebook last week of her cantering her horse.  Grammie broke out in a sweat watching it, but Abby did great!

We’re all so proud of her, this is quite an accomplishment for a not quite five year old with an overprotective Daddy and a not much better Grammie.  What a wonderful thing for a little girl to do, especially one that lives in horse country.   You’re living Grammie’s dream Abby, I’m so excited for you...

Grandchildren melt my heart...

I look at these precious little children and sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am.  Oh, what sweet little souls they are.  It’s hard to believe that Ben is two and Abby will be five in October.  Time passes so quickly and having baby Lexi brings back so many memories of Abby and Ben as babies.

We were in Nashville last weekend, Lexi is four months old now and she’s just the sweetest little puddin’ pop.  She babbles non-stop, crows like a little rooster, laughs out loud, and loves her bouncy chair.  It was Abby’s when she was a baby, and I have such wonderful memories of Abby in it, and now Lexi.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.   How did I ever get this lucky...

Sometimes I amaze myself...

So I had an appointment for a haircut yesterday at 4pm.  I’m so organized, I put it on my iCal, set my alert for an hour ahead, I’m good to go.  At 1:50 I check my calendar to make sure of the time, yep, it’s at 4pm, so on a whim I look at my text from my hairdresser, Rachel, because nobody actually calls for hair appointments these days, we just text, and it says Thursday 2PM.  TWO PM!!!!! Oh no, oh crap, I’m in my grubby clothes, no makeup, hair a rats nest, cause I had washed it night before and let it go au naturel, which translates to a curly mess.  So I quick text Rachel at 1:52 pm, tell her I will be there ASAP, I hotfoot it to the bedroom, throwing off clothes as I go, I jump into something presentable, smear some makeup base and eyeshadow on, clip up my hair and I’m off.  Hubby takes me, he had errands to run anyway, and Rachel is just five minutes away from the house if you speed.

Well, he roars in there at 2:05PM.  Yes, sports fans, 2:05!  It was a sprint to the finish, and a record for yours truly. Except now LC will expect me to always be that fast...

Jeez oh pete, what a disaster.  I know what happened, too, hubby had a haircut last week at 4PM, and my befuddled brain just wrote down the wrong time.  Inspector Clueless here….

REDKEN POWDER GRIP 03 - TEXTURIZING HAIR POWDER

Buy this right now, today, IMMEDIATELY!!!!!  You know I always share the good stuff, and this product is the best ever for aging, thinning or fine hair!  My friend Carlene told me about it, she lives on the East Coast, they’re always ahead of us in Heavensville with trends, and her hairdresser clued her in.  She hadn’t even tried it when she told me about it, but I ordered it as soon as I read her email.  I went right to Amazon and bought it, and let me tell you, it’s a game changer.

Okay, for the details.  I’m old(er) now, my hair is thin on top, thin on the sides, but thick, thick in the back.   I’ve used every mousse, volumizing shampoo, root lifter known to (wo)man with absolutely no luck.  Well this power comes in a little tube, you only use a little bit, just wash and style your hair like you regularly do, then sprinkle it at the roots where you want lift (I section the top of my hair, put the powder behind the section, sprinkle it on and rub it in with my fingers.  It disappears, but gives you natural looking lift, volume, texture and best of all, it doesn’t go flat mid-day.  It doesn’t even go flat the next day.  You wake up to hair fuller than when you went to bed!  Seriously!!!!

Now I have a friend, who shall remain nameless, that only washes her hair probably every five-six days.  I can’t go even one day!  I flat iron the next morning, it’s not bad, by mid-day it’s limp as a rag.  But with this product, I can flat iron my hair the next day and it looks great all day!   Just can’t pull the plug and go three days without washing it, but I bet it would still work!  Reviewers say you can use it mid-day or before an evening out for instant volume and lift.

Okay, here’s what not to expect, a miracle.  C’mon, your hair is thin, this product isn’t going to make you look like a Pantene commercial, but it will give you noticeable lift that lasts.  It’s just the best find in years!  And don’t go crazy sprinkling it on when you first try it.  Try a little bit at a time to see how it looks or you will end up with really big hair.  I mostly use it in the crown area, that works best for me.

The cons - the only one is that it does make your hair feel tacky where you sprinkle it.  It’s sticky like hairspray.  But it’s just the roots, the rest of your hair is soft, it’s no big deal, and the best part is that it doesn’t give it up an hour after you use it.  No more flat hair!

And the price - $20 from Amazon, it’s a really small bottle, but you use such a small amount it will last for months.  It’s the best $20 I’ve spent in a long time.  Here’s the link

Making Summer Memories

I continue to be a huge, huge fan of HGTV’s The Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, and of course I love her blog.  She had a post this week about celebrating family and one of the things they did at the dinner table was to talk about their favorite summer memories.

And now that summer is almost over, I have a few of my own and of course most of them revolve around grandchildren.

So let’s gather around this picture of Joanna’s table and I’ll tell you a few of mine.

Baby Lexi visiting us for the first time at at a month old, and early mornings when John would bring her and put her in bed with me so Mama could rest.  I would feed her and lay her on a pillow and just watch her sleep.

Abby’s annual summer visit.  Watching her excitement at finding pirate treasure every day she was with us, seeing her interact with my friends, introducing her to Grammie’s favorite place, the river, taking her to Burdette Park to feed the ducks.   After she left hubby and I relived her visit over and over again.

Ben, our sweet, giggling, laughing little boy who loves to ride on the golf cart.  Saying the phrase “cock-a-doodle-do" and hearing him always repeat “Bob” afterward and then bursting into laughter every single time.  Watching his love of the outdoors, playing with a ball and running full steam ahead, his short little legs churning as fast as they would go.

Our “summer project" landscaping our walk and watching the flowers grow.  It has been so much fun, having early breakfast outside most mornings, just sitting at the little bistro table, drinking my coffee, watching the butterflies and honeybees flitting around and the finches lighting on the coneflowers, it’s just so pretty and serene.

Spending as much time as possible outdoors because we’ve had such wonderful weather.  Lots of evening rides on the golf cart, talking with neighbors, just doing the simple things, living in the moment and enjoying nature.

And summer’s not over yet, there’s still time to make more memories.  Make every day count ladies, we never know what tomorrow will bring...

If you want to read Joanna’s entry about Celebrating Family, here’s a link to her blog.

Pictures courtesy of Magnolia Homes

I wasn't going to plant anymore fleurs, but...

I’m finished planting my new garden area, but I saw this Rudbeckia and couldn’t resist.  Unlike Black-Eyed Susans, this variety has very large flowers, it really pops and looks more like sunflowers.  Will they winter over?  Here’s to hoping’ but not holding my breath...

Hanx Writer, SO much fun!!!!

 

 It’s so old school, retro, vintage, a blast from the past, oh this is a goodie, an iPad app created by none other than Tom Hanks.  

Typing has always been my thing, I cut my teeth on manual typewriters and this app looks and most importantly sounds  and feels like an old typewriter, you even hear that familiar bell “ding” when you get to the end of the line.

It’s only available on iPad right now, hopefully it will come to iPhone soon.  After you type your “letter” you can either email, message or even save it to iBooks.

And did I mention that it’s free!  You can upgrade for $4.99 to two other styles of typewriter, which of course I did, but I actually prefer the free version.  If you’ve got an iPad and you like nostalgia, this is a must try!!!!

Here’s the link to grab it!

Blue Books, I'm in LOVE!!!!!

  

Facebook is so much more than just keeping up with friends.  I find the most spectacular things on Facebook, and this picture of shelves of blue books just called to me.

Of course I showed hubby the picture right away because he’s at tag sales every weekend and he came home with a few for me.  It will be fun browsing antique stores, also, I’m sure we will find treasures...

Lauren Bacall the last to witness the Golden Age is gone...

My friend, Carlene sent me a link to this Vanity Fair article with Lauren Bacall from March of 2011, and it’s a wonderful read.  She was really something, Betty Bacall, a strong woman with a potty mouth and very strong opinions.  Here’s an excerpt...

The apartment is cavernous, on a high floor of the Dakota, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Huge windows overlook Central Park, 30 feet above the tree line, with the grand residential buildings of Fifth Avenue in the distance. My meetings with Lauren Bacall, who is 86, are at three P.M. in the winter, so the light is silvery blue in the wood-trimmed parlor, where Bacall has set the scene for our sessions. A tall wooden chair, for her, is positioned in the center of the room, near a low, white-and-green-upholstered club chair, for me. A single lamp burns in a distant corner. She is dressed, every time, in a black shirt, black pants, and black orthopedic shoes. She always has with her Sophie, an excitable papillon, and what she refers to as “my friend,” her aluminum walker, with tennis balls on its feet. The “fucking fracture that I’ve got on the hip” is the result of a bathroom fall a few months back, a frustrating how-do-you-do after a life of near-perfect health. “Can you imagine? It’s the only time I have been in the hospital except for the times when I gave birth,” she says. A fighter by nature, Bacall has begun to venture out, supported by her walker, onto 72nd Street, going alone to physical therapy, for the most part unrecognized, just another senior citizen. “People don’t pay any attention to me or the walker,” she says. “The other night I was going into a doctor’s office, and some son of a bitch came out of the building, almost knocked me over. I said, ‘You’re a fucking ape!’—screaming at him. He never even turned around. Couldn’t care less, this big horse of a man.”

and here’s a link the rest of the article...

Lexi at 3 months

 

This Grammie experience is just the best and it keeps on getting better!

Miss Lexi is now three months old, and a total charmer.  She smiles all the time, laughs out loud, sleeps twelve hours a night and is a little social butterfly.  She’s out and about all the time and that red hair gets her a lot of attention.  Her daddy got a lot of attention when he was a little boy because of that hair, too.  I’m loving these baby blues, her eyes just sparkle!

Oh, what a treasure this one is…..

Regrets, I've had a few...

The older I get, the more I reflect.  My family has heard over and over how there were two things in life that didn’t happen for me.  I never got a horse and I never lived on the water.  They’re tired of me talking about it, I’m like a broken record, especially about a house on the water.  It wouldn’t have needed to be a big house, just a little lake house, with lots of windows, pine trees and a stone fireplace, but it didn’t happen.  But actually, I do have a few other woulda, coulda, shoulda’s...

I also regret that I never had a Vespa.

Not a new one, an oldie like the one above.  Wouldn’t this have been just fantastic!  Never woulda happened, actually I’m terrified of any kind of motorcycle, but a Vespa is just so awesome!  

And poor hubby has heard me dream for years about wanting a Woodie.  Oh yeah, a dark green beauty, I would have loved this.

And lately I’ve had thoughts of owning a VF bus from the 50’s.  Not a hippie bus, but a spiffy red one like this.

But what I really, really would like to have is a Glamper! A retro one like this with a great interior like the one below.

But none of the above is going to happen.  I would have had a shot at a Glamper if we were younger, but we’re too old now, I’m afraid the thrill would be gone after just a few trips to the wilderness anyway.  We’ve never been campers.

But an (older) girl’s gotta dream, even if the dreams don’t come true.  Age creeps up on you and  you realize there are limitations that weren’t a factor when you were younger.   But  darn, that VW bus would look so cool pulling a glamper and pulling up to that little lake house with the Vespa parked out front and the woodie in the garage!

Look who turned two today!

Oh Ben, you’re the most precious little grandson.  At two you’re a bundle of energy, playing with anything with wheels, chasing your sister, riding with P-Pa on the golf cart constantly when you visit and giggling at everything.  You’re such a little charmer, you wrinkle your little nose and that cute little grin is just the best!  Time passes so quickly, I treasure every visit and I’m so blessed to have this special little child to love.  

Happy Birthday Mr. Ben, you bring such joy to our family and brighten our days with your sweet, sunny disposition.   XOXO ~ Grammie

The Hundred Foot Journey

 

I struggle with movies, but who doesn’t.   It’s so hard to find something that interests me at this age.  I loved The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, now they’ve finished filming The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, so apparently others liked it as well.  Anything that has Dame Judi Dench in it is a must see for me!  Oh, I can’t leave out The Quartet with Maggie Smith, it was awesome, too.

And this summer, The Hundred Foot Journey looks interesting.  Can’t quite get over Helen Mirren with a french accent, but the woman is a wonderful actress.  Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, love the Brits, they do it so well!

Hubby will watch any movie as long as there is popcorn, sounds like a good date night to me….

And if you just want to sit on the couch at watch Netflix, here are a couple of possibilities for you.  Joan Plowright, another great english actress in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is wonderful, and Enchanted April is an absolutely visual delight.

A few of my plants in the garden...

These coneflowers are a combination of bright orange and hot pink.  They’re Monrovia’s Sundown “Big Sky Series"

And this is  “Supreme Cantaloupe" my buddy V’s favorite.  And yes, I know it’s out of focus, it’s the only picture I took of it.

I have pink phlox, I’m not sure of the variety, but the color just pops, it’s so bright.

Roosters are everywhere here at Shady Acres, inside, outside, can I have too many?  My favorite, "Gorgeous George” sits  by the front door and this little guy, fondly named “Cluck Norris”  is tucked between the lariope and the Baby Gem Boxies.  I’ll be glad when Cluck ages out more, he’s only a year old, and the concrete is still green.   I like concrete statues to look like they’ve been around forever.

It was getting dark when I took these pictures last night, and this is just a very few of my plants, I’ll post more when they bloom.

Our Cottage Garden...

The way it was….

The way it is now...

I love cottage gardens, I love walking thru a garden pathway to the front door, and I’ve dreamed of doing this for several years now.  We live in a condominium community, a couple of the newer condo’s have landscaped pathways to their entrance and I think the look is so inviting.

Last week was lovely, temperatures in the high 70’s - lower 80’s, low humidity, it was the kind of week that made you just want to do something outdoors.  We got permission from the board to add to our landscaping, and since hubby isn’t as young as he used to be, Wendee and her crew that do an amazing job with yard maintenance for part of the development did the difficult prep for us.  Tuesday she cut out the sod with a sod cutter, Wednesday she rotitilled in the nutrients, and brought in some rocks, meanwhile hubby and I were scouring all the local garden centers for plants, which wasn’t easy this time of the year, these projects are usually done early spring or late fall.  My buddy V gave me lots of tips, I found plants that I really liked, and Thursday LC planted, then Friday he mulched, and in just three days  our entrance had a dramatic change.

I’m really happy with how it turned out, and we were able to incorporate my 35 year old little boy sitting on a turtle fountain into it.  Wendee and Larry dragged the boxwood in the clay pot from the patio and voila we have the beginning of our cottage garden.  Now the fun begins, watching it grow and I’ll post some individual pictures later to give you some idea of the plants we chose.

It was a busy week here at Shady Acres, and I’m a really happy camper with the way it turned out...

Update:  It looks like the butterflies, hummingbirds and bumble bee’s have found my garden already, that didn’t take long at all.  They are happily flitting around checking everything out this afternoon...

 

 

Farmers are the lifeblood of America...

The Orphan Train, an excellent read....

 I’m the world’s worst about reading trashy fiction, I mostly read silly, vapid romance novels with the same ending, time after time after time!  I seldom read anything of substance, and never read men authors.  Okay, so I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to literature, but for some reason this book appealed to me and it was excellent. .  If you want something this summer that isn’t exactly light reading, but extremely interesting, give this a try.  

Then Google "Orphan Train", even though this book is fiction it does reflect on a difficult time for our country and you will find a lot of interesting information and photos of these children on the trains.   It’s so sad, but in a way, we have come full circle, with all of these immigrant children being flown to foster homes all over the country.  Think how frightened they must be.  Instead of Orphan Trains, we now have Orphan Planes.

Here’s the synopsis:

Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be. Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse...

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

Abby's Summer Visit 2014...

Abby has been here this week for her summer visit and we’ve had such a good time.  She’s such a funny little girl, she giggles until she hiccups, she sings, she dances, she’s the most precious little soul.  

The last time we visited her she showed me her Strawberry Lip Smackers, and I showed her my Cotton Candy Lip Smackers that I always carry with me.  She wanted me to have Strawberry, she wanted Cotton Candy, so off to Target we go and thankfully they had both, this was high on her priority list this visit, both of us having the same ones.

She’s very girly these days, my friend Trish’s granddaughter Hayden came to play, and Abby proceeds to put on every piece of jewelry she brought with her, including her tiara, flower and several flower clip-ons that you can’t see because they are on her ponytail.

The jewelry didn’t come off after Hayden left, we went for our evening ride on Milly in full regalia.  Oh, she had so much fun that night, waving to everyone we met on our ride.  

She took one of my shopping bags and she was carrying it around with all of her “treasures” in it.  It was enormous, big and bulky and it kept slipping off her shoulder, so I went into my closet and gave her one of my purses and a matching makeup bag.  It was a big hit and I taught her how to wear it across her body like a messenger bag and it went everywhere with her, even to bed.  Poor Lindsay having to deal with the bag, I don’t think this child and that purse will be soon parted, she just loves it.

See what I mean, it was always with her.  We were at McDonald’s in this picture where we went every single day of her visit for lunch because she wanted the Happy Meal.  She only ate the fries and drank the apple juice, and freely admitted the only reason she wanted to go was for the toy, but it was fine with us, that’s what Grandparents are for, to indulge their grandchildren.

Here’s she’s wearing a Railroad Engineer’s cap, watching Netflix.  She quickly learned how to queue up her movies and shows, she has her own Abby profile and was an avid Barbie movie fan.

She and P-Pa were buddies, they had so much fun with Lego’s.  I don’t know which “kid” enjoyed it most.  And there were also lots of trips to the woods on Milly, because the pirates came again this summer, and put treasures daily in the treasure chest hidden in the rocks.  I have video of this, but that’s for another blog entry.  It's so exciting for her, this ongoing treasure hunt that we do every summer, more about that later...

She’s a chip girl, tells everyone that Lay’s Classics are her faves, but she does love Ruffles, too.  We were out for a drive, saw a Lay’s truck making a delivery, and of course, P-pa had to turn around so that we could get a picture.  She was so excited to take her picture in front of the truck, it was one of the highlights of her trip.

We took her and her ever present bag to the river one evening after bath time.  She loved sitting and watching the boats and wanted to know how we could get down there and get on a ski boat.  The slower boats held no interest for her, she liked the fast ones!

One day we went to the park with her ever present bag and her Happy Meal.  

She loved the ducks, named them all and fed them an entire loaf of bread.

And that was our week.  A whole lotta laughter, a whole lotta giggles and smiles, and most important of all, a whole lotta love.  

Bye for now sweet Abby, see ya’ round a donut...

Don't Go Rafting without a Baptist in the Boat!

 

Jeanne Robertson is without a doubt the funniest woman I’ve ever had the privilege of watching and thiis video is absolutely hilarious.  The more you get into it, the funnier it gets.  I so want to see her in person, I always check her schedule, and there are some possibilities.  This tall, graceful woman imparts humor without vulgarity, a rarity in these days.  And I love how she calls hubs “left brain,” oh Jeanne Robertson you are on feisty hoot of a woman!!!!

Do yourself a favor peeps, take a few, sit back and enjoy this National Treasure.  Jeanne Robertson I heart you!!!!!

Trader Joe's Ruby Red Chai, just because...

It’s a cool evening in Heavensville, kind of a fallish tease in the middle of July, if that’s possible.  I brewed a cup of Ruby Red Chai, and oh my, I had forgotten how deliciously wicked this tea really is.  If you’re lucky enough to shop at Trader Joe’s, this is so worth buying.  I’m a Chai Tea lover, and this is the best by far.  I just don’t understand why they don’t come to Heavensville.  I email them monthly.  *sigh*  Sure Jan,  like they really care!  Of course they don't, but I sure will be one happy camper if they ever grace us with our presence.

I was also reading a recipe of a cup of brewed Chai, a lime, some coconut milk and sweetener, blended with ice.  Sounds like a plan when the temps go back to the 90’s next week.  In the meantime, I think I’ll have another cup.  It is caffeine free after all...

You won't believe this 80 year old woman's makeover...

 

She looks absolutely amazing!   You have to watch this, unbelievable...

I did it, I bought a Vitamix!

I’ve loved the Vitamix for years, drooled over them, read about them extensively, but just could never pull the plug and spend the big bucks.  But a few weeks ago, I decided the time is right.  Hubby and I eat healthy, this is just the next step for our lifestyle, incorporating more nutritious foods into our diet.

But lawdee, I’ve never had so  many people express strong opinions about a purchase in my lifetime.  The reaction by family and friends was either VERY positive or VERY negative. This is not just a blender, folks,  I did the research, I knew what I was doing.

But I had to have a deal, I always want a deal, it’s the thrill of the chase, it’s in my blood.  Vitamix does not discount, ever, period!  The only deals to be had are refurbished or taking your chance with open box ones on eBay.  I plan on never buying another one, just like my trusty Cuisinart from 1978 that is still going strong to this day, and I wanted a good return policy in case the naysayers were right.

4th of July weekend Williams-Sonoma had their annual 20% off Made in America sale.  Well, Vitamix is handmade in Ohio, but when I called them, they said no can do, they never discount Vitamix and there should be a disclaimer on their website.  Well, there wasn’t!  I looked, the customer service rep looked, there was nothing.  So then I nicely asked her if I could please talk to her supervisor.  This isn’t my first rodeo, when something is offered, the company should make good and WS is the best of the best.  It was evening, her supervisor was at dinner, so she took my number, and in an hour she called back and said they would honor the discount and give me free shipping.  SCORE!!!!

But then we were going to the kids for several days to babysit the grands, so I had to delay shipment.  Finally it arrived, the 750 Pro Series, Candy Apple Red beauty of my dreams.  Yep, I got the latest and greatest, the model with all the presets. I’m just doing this once, I wanted the bells and whistles.  I opened it washed it, immediately made hubby a lemonade slushy, then I made a green smoothie (spinach leaves, flax seeds, strawberries, blueberries, almond milk and half a frozen banana, and all I can say is awesome!  Simply amazing!  And as for those presets, a lot of people on the forums say they don’t need them, but you turn it on, walk away, it does the work and you don’t have to guess.  The thing even has a self wash cycle.  Works for me!!!

And what am I making in it today? Salad dressing with ground chia seeds and also soup, cauliflower bisque.  You put in the ingredients, it runs for four minutes, turns itself off and you have hot soup.  And tomorrow who knows, maybe I’ll make almond butter to go with my flax crackers.

And now for the verdict.  I’ll give it thirty days to be sure, but so far the naysayers lost.  This thing exceeds even my finicky expectations. The Gadget Queen hit the motherlode!

What a powerhouse this machine is, better yet, what a deal it was!!!!

HGTV - FIXER UPPER

I am totally  hooked on this show, it’s so refreshing and so much fun to watch.   My friend Barb, who always has great finds, told me about this show  a few weeks ago, so I recorded the series and it’s a winner.  This couple from Waco, Tx, Chip and Joanna Gaines renovate and flip old houses.  He’s the brawn, she’s the brains, the woman just oozes style.

It’s just fascinating what they do with run down homes, they breathe new life into them and the results are amazing.  They finished season 1 and are now filming season 2.  You can catch past episodes on Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus, reruns are on Thursday nights on HGTV, 8 pm cst and you can read all about the houses and view the before and after pictures on Joanna’s Blog, Magnolia Homes.  They knock out walls, open up spaces, their ideas are very fresh and clean.  Joanna decorates with a lot of white and works in vintage artifacts whenever she can.  

At first I had a hard time visualizing them as a couple, but have since decided that they are an interesting mix and often comical to watch.  Joanna is gorgeous, tall and lean and wears wonderful casual vintage/boho style clothes and killer boots!  Chip is a Baylor educated good ole’ boy, who hasn’t grown up and they live with their four kids and various animals, including goats and chickens, in an old farmhouse that they are renovating for themselves.

Here are some details about the ongoing renovation of their farmhouse.  You can watch additional videos about their farmhouse on YouTube. 

 

Below are a few BEFORE and AFTER pictures, the first pictures from Episide 1.

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 I don’t have a kitchen BEFORE picture, but just look at the AFTER:

 And here’s a before and after from Episode 4 - oh my, this couple has such vision.

 BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 BEFORE:

 AFTER:

See what I mean?  Simply amazing what they accomplish and such a nice escape on a hot summer evening.

Thanks for the suggestion, Barb, give this a watch peeps, you won’t be disappointed.  I’m looking forward to Season 2, finally a television show that interests me.  ~ Jan

Childhood Summers

After the gawdawful winter we just had I said I would never complain about the temperature, regardless of how hot it gets.  And I’m not, but I have been thinking back to my childhood summers.

Hubby and I went for a ride at dusk last night in Tootie with her top down, and the evening sounds and muggy air I was feeling transported me right back to our little house in the country by the ditch.  We lived in a valley and there was always a breeze, but when the dog days of summer hit with a vengeance, there was no escape.  We would sit outside past dark, watching the fireflies, trying to fiend off the mosquitoes, catching an occasional breeze, anything to cool off.  The house was hotter inside than it was outdoors, despite a noisy box fan that did little more than move around hot air.  We would sit in metal lawn chairs with an icy drink in our hands, often watching the headlights from a train on the tracks far away, listening to it's whistle as it wound around the bends in the fields.  A car or two would pass, but country people were courteous, they would slow down so that they wouldn’t blow dust in our yard, and we finally would go inside and sleep in beds pushed next to windows, just trying to get a little relief.

People say you get “used to it.”  Well that’s just not true.  Hot is hot, and sweltering summer days were just endured and I never got used to them.  I remember mother dreading the summers when the farmers surrounded us by corn, there was no relief because the corn blocked the breeze.  But when we had soybeans in the fields around us, it was a good year.   Was life ever really that hard?  Was it? 

A couple of weeks ago, our AC was low of freon and not cooling the house. Oh my, it was so uncomfortable and it was only for a short while until the repairman could come and fix it.  But as a child, we endured months of hot weather.  Mother would always cook despite the heat, she would pick vegetables from the garden and can them in a kitchen so hot you could barely breathe.  The big vats of tomatoes would simmer on the stove, and you can only imagine how much heat that generated.  There was no choice, we lived off the land and the food had to be canned when it ripened.  She would pick the vegetables in the morning, then work at the drugstore all day, come home and can in the evening.  Today’s women thankfully don’t have a clue about that kind of hard work, but in those days you did what you had to do, you had no choice.  She was a remarkable woman, my mother.  She always provided for us and seldom complained about it, she worked so hard and I admire her for that.

Even washing the Ball canning jars was an ordeal.  As a small girl, we didn’t have a pump in the kitchen, only a well on the back porch where we drew water with a bucket.  I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have dropped the bucket in the well while attempting to draw water, and mother would have to get grappling hooks and fish the bucket out by it’s handle.  Then she would have to heat water on the stove to wash the jars, drying them with her snowy white dishtowels made from flour sacks that smelled like sunshine from drying on the line.

We were estatic when we finally got a pump in the kitchen, and I’m not talking an electric pump and a faucet.  Oh no, we got a pump with a handle, and we would pump water from the well into a large white enamel bucket with a red rim and a wire bail handle and drink with the long handled galvanized “dipper”  that  hooked over the edge of the bucket.  We didn’t even have a spring fed well, our water came from a cistern, the water ran off the roof into the gutters which fed into the well.  There was a charcoal filter to “purify” it, but the water had to be so bacteria ridden.  We never got sick, our bodies were used to it.

We did have a deep well about a half mile away at the Illinois State Experiment Farm.  We would often take gallon jugs and fill them to drink, the water was much purer from that well than from our cistern.  

Hubby was appalled when he married me, he would never let mother drink the well water after that and he promptly installed running water for her.  It all sounds so primitive, but it was all we had, it was all I knew, and it wasn’t uncommon.  Country people lived that way, no amenities, just the bare basics. 

So I’m not complaining, even though the humidity is high and the temperature is hovering in the mid 90’s, I’m just grateful for a cool house and running water.  But if I could go back for just a day, even in this heat, I would do it in a heartbeat, just to be a child with mother again and relive that simple peaceful life in the country in our little house by the ditch.

 

Store your measuring spoons in a jar...

 

Why didn't I think of this? My measuring spoons are on rings in a big bowl on my counter with my measuring cups, and I have to dig around to find them. Then I use one spoon and end up washing the entire ring.

I have great vintage jars, and when I saw this idea on King Arthur Flour's website, the light bulb went off.

A great little tip for you this morning...

 

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