Ooo, Ooo, Ooo! Looking Out Our Front Door!

Water to the west of us. Water to the front. Water to the east of us. There is even water on our north. Who says no man is an island!

It has been lightning, thunder and rain all night long.

I love it, but we may have some flooded roads to deal with today.

First Harvest, 2009

Our garden isn't doing well this year. Last year at this time, we had so many cucumbers we almost didn't know what to do with them. We hope we will at least get tomatoes and green peppers before the first frost! Anyway, I was able to pick some carrots today. They are awesome! They're about an inch and a half across at the top. There are more in the ground, but I don't want to pick them faster than we can eat them. They make me feel marginally successful. Ah well. Maybe next year.

Flying High!

Keenan is an Eagle Scout!

Tonight he had his Eagle Board of Review. The board signed the paperwork officially advancing Keenan to the rank of Eagle. We are so excited. He worked really hard on his project (the sign in the picture) and deserves the honor. Now, we get to plan a court of honor for him. More later...

Where Flowers Bloom So Does Hope

Oh! How I love it when the flowers bloom. This year, I actually have enough to bring inside and make large, lovely arrangements and still have plenty to admire outside. Spring and flowers bring both joy and hope.
Take time to smell the roses, and the irises, and the peonies, and any other delightful bit of nature you come upon!

Here we are, together . . .

A Visit to Missouri

Rich and Dalrie came and stayed with us for four days, from March 27th until early March 31st. It was wonderful! We got plenty of visiting time since the snow that accompanied them from Snoqualmie Pass dumped on us on Saturday. We were stuck at home. It was quite pleasant. They brought their laptops, so we were quite a sight with four laptops on the table and not much conversation! Very comfy.
Jeremy, Beth and Zoey, along with several of our descendants, visited both Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Lots of food, noise and love. Jeremy's family came everyday for at least part of the day. That was delightful, too.
On Monday, Rich and Dalrie, and Rob and I went to Cameron for some famous Sweet Al doughnuts! Mmm-mmm good! Then, we went to Jamesport, the Amish community. We wandered through antique stores and shopped at the Amish store. We took an adventure on gravel roads and saw 'real' Amish farms, including a manure spreader (!). We lunched in Trenton at the Wild Onion Cafe where they serve a very tasty French dip. We also traipsed through a very cold and smelly antique and junk store. The sun provided some welcome warmth. The snow was all but gone.
We also went to dinner at Hunan for Chinese food on Monday evening. We viewed an old fire engine at McCorkle Park in Cameron (Rich is Hoodsport's fire chief), then came home for visiting till we dropped.
Rich and Dalrie left at about 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday. I miss them, and the smell of coffee! Not to mention plain cake doughnuts, apple fritters and carrot cake (how was the one from Jamesport, by the way?). I can't wait for another visit. Good thing Jeremy, Beth and Zoey live out here :>)

(Sorry the picture is blurry; it's from shrinking it. If you click on it and look at the full-size picture, it will be clear.)

Happy Spring!

For the first day of Spring, it is pretty dreary here in Missouri. It looks like it's threatening to rain. I was able to hang some clothes out on the line, though. Plenty of wind to dry them. Most of my day was spent baking 30, count'em, 30 loaves of Italian bread for a fund-raising dinner for the Hamilton Marching Band. Mable is going to make them all into garlic bread. That is, Mable is going to make 29 of them into garlic bread. After all that work, I'm having one for dinner!

A great explanation

MSQC Giveaway!

And I want it!

Sarah and the Missouri Star Quilt Company are offering a fabulous package of quilting stuff just for commenting on their shop and/or site, both of which are way cool! Here is a picture of the offer:

Oooh! I am so hoping to win!

Birthdays and Tea

Tuesday, the 24th, Jonah turned 29 years old! Wow! I talked to him in the morning and hope the rest of his day was wonderful.

Wednesday, Sarah had a birthday. She is older ;>) We had a small crowd here for an afternoon tea. It was very enjoyable. Kris and the kids, Sarah and her kids, Sasha (her kids were sick and couldn't come) and I consumed at least 16 cups of tea, a half gallon of apple juice, peanut butter cookies, chocolate cookies and yummy banana bread (thanks for the recipe, Sis). It was fun to be together and have a houseful for a day.
I got to hold both Rachel and Alexandria. They are darlings! Alexandria actually fits into her clothing, now. Her cheeks are getting chubby. Rachel has discovered her thumb. Really cute! She also let me hold her and fell asleep in my arms. Sweet.
Aaah. The joys of being a mom and a grandma!

I'm a grandma, again!

The new angel daughter of
Josiah & Kristina Aitchison.
She is #32 grandchild!
Amazing!