It's going to be a Short day...

I stayed up until after four o'clock in the morning last night/this morning.  Needless to say, I just got up about an hour ago!  Oh my!  The day's half over...

I had a wonderful time cruising on a pontoon boat with my obnoxious son, Ben and some of his friends, yesterday afternoon.  It was a perfect day!  Why do I call my precious son "obnoxious"?  Here is his idea of posing for pictures:

Smile, Ben!

(click to biggify)

Benjamin! 

Smile nicely.

Ben, you are not a chlld.  You are a thirty-something year old MAN!

Now, SMILE for your mother!

Some people's kids...

We had a blast fishing off the pontoon boat.  I caught the first fish.  In fact I caught at least eight fish and only one other person even caught one! 

  ;-)  

Of course, we were joking that the little bluegill that I caught and released just kept swimming around the boat and taking my hook again.  Everything that I causht was tiny!   It was great fun though. 

Ben has so many wonderful friends! 

What a great day.

I got home to find my sheep waiting by the gate to go back into their main pasture.

I had left them in the side pasture for the day.

Sable wanted her friends back 'where they belong'.

All in all, a wonderful day!

I took over three-hundred pictures of my chickens when I got home! 

I stayed up until after four o'clock this morning, downloading and editing photos.

Now I can update my chicken blog with new pictures of my Calico Cochins.

DREAM says...

"Did you hear that??? 

THREE HUNDRED PICTURES!

Of CHICKENS!!!

That is just plain sick..."

biggify that picture to see Dream's expression.

;-)

P.S.  Ben is going to KILL me!

Meet My Son...

It was a wonderful Easter!

I spent the afternoon with my oldest daughter Pam (and her husband & three sons!) and my son, Ben.  I don't believe that you've met Ben...

Ben is my "middle" child.  Although I don't know how I could possibly be old enough to have a middle child as old as Ben!

Sable LOVES  Ben.

I think it's because he doesn't yell at her when she climbs up on him to give him kisses!

Pam and Karl brought their new puppy (a tiny "Teddybear") named "Piper" to meet the family.  What a little doll!

SABLE says...

"That little fur ball may be cute but she better stay away from MY  Ben!"

FYI

Ben has Cerebral Palsy as a result of a very traumatic delivery and an incompetent obstetrician.  He is unable to walk or feed himself or do most activities that we take for granted.  Yet, he lives on his own.  He owns a mobile home and has home-health-care aides that come in to bathe, feed and dress him and take care of his personal needs.  I am SO proud of my son!  Ben is independent, smart as a whip (he gets that from his Mom!) and a kind and sensitive human being who cares deeply about others.  Ben is proud of all that he has accomplished in spite of his disability and has many friends who contibute to the fact that he has made a good life for himself.

But he won't let me use his nickname on a public forum...

I love you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

:-)

Life is Oh-So-Very Good in the Bluff Country...

I let the ewes out into the big pasture.

Just so that Katie would have something to look out at when she sits in her swing in the backyard.

The sheep were delighted to get turned out into new pasture ~ even if everything IS still brown and not so lovely...

And a little cool, Springtime weather wasn't going to stop my Beautiful Baby Girl from sitting in her favorite spot, with a glass of wine and a good book, and enjoying being home!

It may look prettier, later in the year, when the flowers are blooming and the grass is green.  But my BBG snuggled into her wool jacket and a scarf & mittens ~ draped a home-spun, handknit shawl over her lap and made the most of being home...

Today, we're heading into town to have lunch with My Princess and Ben (who forbids me to use his nickname on public forums!) and then Pam & Katie are taking my Grandsons out of school for the afternoon and going to a movie while I get some shopping done.

It just doesn't get much better than this!

DREAM says:

"Did you see that?  Mom didn't even mention the chickens!"

We don't need to tell Dreamer that Katie and I moved a newly hatched clutch of chicks out of the incubator, into the brooder in the living room last night and then sat and watched a wonderful  movie (The Blind Side) and adorable baby chicks! 

;-)

KNITTING Update...

My Beautiful Baby Girl sent me this photo that she took modeling the lace scarf/wrap that I knit for her.

I'm pretty proud of it!

(both the scarf AND my BBG!)

;-)

I like the pattern so much that now I want to make myself a shawl using the same pattern!

P.S.  My kiddo is so talented that she actually took these pictures, herself, using her phone and a mirror to photograph her reflection! 

Wonderful news:

Katie's coming home this weekend!!!

I haven't seen her in FOREVER and I can't wait.

She even promised that I can HUG her!

(you have to know my daughter to know what a big deal THAT is)

Life is Good in the Bluff Country

A VERY Special Day with Three VERY Special Young Men...

We had SO much fun making ORANGE/CLOVE POMANDERS
First of all Josh (my  favorite  oldest Grandson)  Read the instructions for his brothers Matt (my  favorite Middle Grandson) and Nick (my  favorite  Youngest Grandson) .  The boys decided that they each wanted to make both Orange/clove pomanders and Apple/clove pomanders!

I had all of the ingrediants prepared.  Hint:  if you try this project, be aware: the "recipe" calls for Sandalwood oil, in leiu of orris root, for the preservative.  I don't know about orris root but the Sandalwood oil cost me $38.00 for a teeny-tiny bottle!  Oriss root is most likely cheaper...

Josh, demonstrates using a knitting needle to poke holes for the whole cloves

And then pushes the clove stems into each hole.  A somewhat sticky, fairly time-consuming, but sweet smelling and fun project!

We rolled the clove-studded apples and oranges in paper bags with spices and Sandalwood added to enhance the scent and make it long lasting.  The oil also helps to preserve the apples and oranges so that they don't spoil during the drying process.

For the next 3 to 6 weeks, I will continue to roll the fruit, in the bags, twice a day.  Then, the boys will come back to DECORATE their sweet smelling treasures...

In the meantime, my Basement smells WONDERFUL!!!

Tormenting My Beautiful Baby Girl...

OK. I admit it. I've resorted to blatant bribery and psychological manipulation. But Katie started it! She's the one who said she might come home over Labor Day weekend!

HOW am I tormenting my beloved, youngest child, you may ask? By posting photographs of her favorite place to be:
My Back Yard

To be more exact ~ the SWING in my backyard.

This is where Katie likes to sit and read and relax when she's home.

Most evenings will find her sitting in the swing, reading a book and sipping a glass of wine. If it's cool out, she may wrap one of my shawls around her shoulders.

Katie's seldom alone ~ Mimi and Bella frequently join her on her nightly vigils. We all miss her.

Hurry Home Katie!

We'll keep your seat warm!

*For the Record...*
Katie, I'm pretty sure that you know that as much as we do all miss you, we certainly understand your desire to be with Carter if there's any way that can be arranged. I'm (secretly) hoping that you can work it out. Don't worry ~ it'll be beautiful in the FALL as well...

I love you

MONKEY TAG....

I'm 56 years old and today I learned how to play "Monkey Tag"
No, it's not a video game. Although, that IS what I found my oldest (Josh) and youngest (Nick) Grandsons doing when I went into town to spend some time with them this morning.

After running to the door to greet me with hugs and kisses,

they ran right back into Josh's bedroom to resume their game. Middle brother, Matt, was in the family room, watching T.V.

The boys were less than enthusiastic thrilled when I suggested we go outside for a walk. I suggested they could show me their favorite places in the neighborhood and they assured me that we were already IN their favorite place in the neighborhood!

Smart kids.
Take after their Grandma.
After a sprited board game, we finally ventured outside and Josh and Nick decided to ride their bikes, while Matt prepared to roller blade ~

We were going to the park!

Nick, was particularly thrilled at the prospect.
I borrowed my daughter's bike and we were off.

Of course, I made sure the boys were safely attired for the trip...
I even insisted that Josh wear his LIFE JACKET ~ one never knows when one might encounter a deep puddle on the way to the park! (Josh is SUCH a good sport!) Don't worry ~ Josh knows his Grandma is a kidder and he took it off before we actually left for the park...

We had a BLAST!!!

The boys taught me how to play "Monkey Tag".
The person who's "It" has to close their eyes tightly ~ and keep them closed the whole time. They count to 15 and then have to find the other players, somewhere on the playground equipment ~ without ever opening their eyes!

Let me tell you, it's scary keeping your eyes closed as you feel your way around on that equipment! Every once in a while, the "It" person (Monkey???) yells "LAND". If anyone is touching the ground (running from one piece of the equipment to another), they are caught ~ and therefor, "It". I got caught twice by being on the ground ~ running from the slide to the steps or the ladder to the tunnel.

I can't remember the last time that I had so much fun. (Probably Italy with La Mia Bella Bambina!)

I'm going back next Friday and we're going to play AGAIN!!!

Thank you Josh and Matt and Nick for a GREAT morning!