I Haven't Thought of a Catchy Title Yet

This morning one year ago we were waiting for Laura to be able to replace a belt in the Durango. The previous evening we’d stopped at a KFC in some little town (I’d have to look it up). We discovered that the AC compressor had stopped working and she thought it would be best to get a belt to bypass that in order to avoid other problems later. That night she got one, but it was too short and by then, the Auto Zone she’d gotten it from was closed. In the morning she was able to replace it and we were finally on our way. By the end of that day, because of our travelling companion, we still hadn’t made it to Chicago. Our travelling companion wanted to stop because she was tired. I was tired, but not so much I had to stop and wanted to continue on for another couple of hours. Another couple of hours would have put us on the other side of Chicago. It would have saved us three or four travelling through it the next day due to traffic and road construction.

Yesterday was an okay day. I ran my little errands. I took my paper to my doctor and Paul’s paper to his old doctor. His old doctor was still at lunch so Joanna and I went to the bank and then Staples before returning to give them the paper. When I went in, I had to wait. And wait. And wait. I’m kind of used to there being a receptionist there, you know? Having to wait was a pain in whatever part of the anatomy you choose to put here. Finally a nurse came out of a room and said, “I’ll be right with you.” She took the paper and looked at it and asked if Paul was changing doctors. I said yes. She wanted to know if there was a reason, I said because the new one is closer to work. There are myriad other reasons but that was the kindest. This doctor never gave Paul a complete physical (“Oh, we can do that later,” is what Paul said he said) and when Paul was having problems with an infection that turned out to be MRSA, all he did is look at it. Paul went to an allergy specialist who donned gloves and poked and prodded and ordered tests to find out what the problem was.

Our last stop was Walmart where Joanna got six colors of paint and other assorted necessary things for painting her and Amena’s room. Nick wants to come over and help sand the walls so that Joanna will be ready to paint, she thinks on Friday. I got more bags of dirt and manure and an Echinacea plant (it’s not the purple coneflower type) for Daniel’s grave site. When Nick comes over, he may be bringing some bleeding hearts which I thought at least some of might be nice on Daniel’s grave site, and other than wanting to help with sanding, wants to help with the dirt (which I am more than happy to let him do).

Once we got home, I went to Hubbardston to pay a tax bill and was given a phone number to call because there are “so many fines and charges” on the bill. Yeah, okay, whatever. I haven’t called yet.

Adam was here when we got back from Walmart as well. Yesterday was Ryan’s 4^th birthday and Adam had a bunch of presents for him which Amena had volunteered to help wrap (she loves doing that sort of thing). We ended up having Ryan’s birthday party here which was fun. We took lots of pictures because Adam says he likes having pictures but is bad about getting them. So am I, really, that’s Becky’s job (hint, hint). Anyway, it was fun. For supper, Adam had gotten two pizzas but I didn’t know that until after Paul called and asked if I wanted him to pick up some pizzas at Aldi’s. I said yes, of course. Then he and Laura went to Market Basket and she pointed out the lobster was a really good price so he called to see if he should get some for us. Well, of course! So he did; three for him, two for me. We now have four other confirmed lobster lovers: Laura, Cedric, Seth and Joseph. Daniel liked it too, so Joanna is the odd man out on this one. Unless Amena doesn’t either; she didn’t try any.

Yesterday Paul got a package which turned out to be a stainless steel ice bucket he got for me to use as a milking bucket. I used it this morning and it was nice to only have one receptacle rather than two. It is nice to be able to put two of my favorite bowls back into service as bowls rather than keeping them for milking service. It has a wider bottom than the bowls and so will be less likely to be tipped over.

Paul is reading an article about a woman in China who has found 30 babies in the garbage. She made her living by sorting through the garbage and found her first baby in 1972. Amazingly, they aren’t all girls. Her youngest, 7, is a boy she found when she was 82. It appears that in the country, they kill the babies while in the city, they just abandon them. Recently, a baby girl was found discarded in a dust bin in a plastic bag with a slashed throat. Can you imagine?

Also in the mail yesterday I got a t-shirt I had ordered. It says “And on the 8^th day, God created MIDWIVES.” I saw it on Facebook and had to get one (http://madebymomma.spreadshirt.com/on-the-8th-day-god-created-midwives-A9845352). It’s kind of like AJ and her purple, you know. Or AD and her spiders.

It’s getting late and there are many things to do today so I need to be getting busy. Before I go, however, I have one request. Please pray for Alisha and Imani. I am still the bad guy; she hasn’t spoken to me since she left, unless you count a very few very brief text messages speaking. I don’t know that she is in trouble or anything but I have heard rumors (and being only rumors, I will not pass them on) and they are not good.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

PS Grandma, your letter (first one) arrived yesterday. I do love getting letters from you. I got ink yesterday so I can print things with pictures out for you. Hopefully in the next day or two.

Beginnings and Endings

In another five hours, we left on our life-changing trip last year. If I knew then what I know now, would I still go? That is hard to say. I can’t even say that ultimately, there really isn’t any way I could have known then what I know now because I believe that I could have if it were important to; however, it wasn’t so the decisions made would have been the same. It is my belief that if knowledge of future events is important or somehow necessary, we can be made aware of them. In this case, it would have been a huge burden. In fact, shortly after the accident, I was talking to Diane Vaniman on the phone. Having lost a child to death, she knew what it was like. She asked me a vitally important question: “Did anything happen in the previous days, weeks, even months that let you know something was going to happen?” The answer is an unequivocal YES. In talking to Grandma, I think the same might be true of Papa’s passing although they were different due to the circumstances. I won’t specifically ask at the moment, but if anyone else is willing to look at the death they experienced, it would be interesting.

Yesterday was a good Sunday. We had Laura-made chili and cornbread which was good. She had gotten some chipotle powder in Boston when she was there Friday and was dying to try it out. It is very good. Adam and Nick were both here which was nice. I really like having Nick here (Adam too, but for different reasons) because he knew Daniel. It is crazy the influence we have on others and don’t even know it.

Nick told us that he had gone to the Youth Conference that Daniel did last year. It was Daniel’s one and only year to go because it is only for youth 14 to 18 years old and leaders. Nick said his first day he had an attitude because he felt like he’d been tricked into going by his friend, Jared (a friend of Daniel’s also), but after he realized Daniel was there and met Hyrum (another one of the boys near Daniel’s age), it was all good. For this Youth Conference, they were cleaning up in and around Springfield, MA, where the tornado had gone through. For sleeping arrangements, people volunteer their houses for however many they can fit (and can be specific about if they want girls or boys—no mixed groups) and a group of that many kids and leaders stay. Daniel and Nick were in the same group and Michael Yang was one of the leaders. They were reading scriptures one night and Daniel said, in his deadpan way, “This is how you do it: Third. Nephi. Chapter 3. Verse 3. And it seemeth a pity unto me. . .” So, Nick thought that that is how you were supposed to do it. Mike asked Nick to read verses 6 through 9 so Nick said, “Third. Nephi. Chapter 3. Verse 6. Verse 7. Verse 8. Verse 9. . .” Mike said, “You don’t have to do it that way; Daniel was joking!”

I don't know who all the people are. In fact, I'm only sure about one and that is Daniel. Here we have a lovely view of the back of his head. He's wearing the black t-shirt and blue lei. The boy next to him with the white shirt and lei is one of the Valdez twins, Carols or Luis, but I'm not sure which one. Daniel really liked both of them. I really like their whole family.

Here you actually get to see his face! And I love the expression on the face of Carols or Luis. In this picture, I also recognize Mike Arbon in the white shirt and tie (he is our former Stake President; he and his family just moved from Princeton to South Carolina because of his work) and Fred Cox also in a white shirt with a multi-colored lei (he is our current Stake President and lives in Oxford). 

This is one of the reasons I like Nick coming over.

A while ago, Paul bought some little silicone molds. We’ve got some large ones for cakes, these are so small I don’t think I’d want to use them for baking but they are perfect for freezing juice. Three are dinosaur bones and one is vampire teeth. I froze some apple juice in them and everyone 27 and under had some last night. It wasn’t exactly dessert but it was fun—especially for the boys. Before that they got to watch Quest for Camelot which is a cute movie that most of the children like, even (or maybe especially) Laura. Joanna spent much of her evening looking at Jeeps online.

This morning has been interesting so far. I took the sledge hammer out to move the stakes for the goats when I took the dogs out for their walk. Two of the goats are now behind the sail boat and one is in front. I would have put the third behind as well but I had to use the bathroom so I was in a hurry to get it done and get inside. I might change it later, I might not.

Milking went fairly well other than the fact that I forgot to dip anyone after milking. We’ve been having to hold Goldilocks hind legs when milking because she jumps and kicks so much. Today she didn’t need to be. However, a nasty fly had to bother her just as I was about done with her and she knocked the bowl over so we only got about a cup out of her. Then, when George and Fred came in, it’s been the same way. Laura and/or I have to hold her legs so she doesn’t kick the kids. Today, for the first little while, I didn’t have to (Laura and Cedric were taking Snowflake and Princess out). Once she started, however, it isn’t like she’s going to stop, so I had to hold her for the last while.

Breakfast was breakfast. Paul and Laura are already on their way. Paul has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon I think at 3:00 with a new doctor in Leominster. Laura is prepared with reading material. Joanna is washing her bowl from cereal. Amena is talking to Laura on the phone. Seth and Joseph are outside. Cedric is impaling slugs at the table with a pencil. I am thinking about what I want to eat for breakfast since I haven’t yet.

My day looks to be one of running errands. I get to take papers to my doctor and the doctor that Paul will no longer be going to. That is in Gardner. I also get to go pay a tax bill in Hubbardston. I suppose that means I should take a shower. After breakfast.

With that, I will be off. I hope you have as good a day as we’re supposed to (mid 70’s, fairly low humidity, some clouds but lots of sun with a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon).

Reflective Sunday

Last year at this time, we were going crazy getting ready to leave the next day on our trip across the country. It is amazing what a year can do. A friend and her two children recently left on a similar adventure and other people we know have made cross country trips. If I didn’t know better or if I were a more negative person, I might say, “Why us?” The correct response would be, “Why not us?” Things happen for a reason even if we don’t know the reason.

Last night, I was having an IM conversation via Facebook with Nick. He said, “I remember the winter camp out. Hyrum, Jared and I got rid of Drayton so we could visit Daniel.”

"Really?” I asked. “How did that go?”

“It was pretty nice; we just sat in the dark and prayed a little bit and talked about some of the stuff we remember about Daniel. The favorite of all our memories (the one we all remembered) was at scout camp when he climbed the tree and I laughed and told him I could climb higher and pulled down the tree and pulled myself up the tree on the ground we thought it was funny.”

Makes my heart warm and my eyes wet. To me, it is important that we are not the only ones who miss Daniel. I think of people in our family who have passed, my dad, Papa, Robert Lee, Uncle Mick, Daniel, and we can go farther back if we’d like to Grandma and Grandpa Roper, Grandma and Grandpa Lamberger, Gammy, Grandpa Thompson. . . They were all known and loved and are remembered. I love hearing stories about Daniel. I love talking about Daniel. I am so glad he is part of our family.

So, yesterday morning I worked on Daniel’s grave site. I came up to the house for something, I don’t remember what at the moment, and saw that it was 11:15. Since it was so late, I got lunch fixed for children (PB&Js) and had some macaroni salad before going back down. To make things quicker this morning for me, you can read about it at http://www.mywindingroadtomidwifery.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=22. Grandma, I plan on printing out all of these things that have pictures and mailing them to you so you can see them as well. Might be a good project for this afternoon.

We got some pretty good rain yesterday afternoon. It was very nice. It was sprinkling when we did the goats this morning as well. Right now the goats should be out but Joanna is taking forever to get up.

I think Paul may still be in bed as well unless he snuck into the shower. Laura is making chili beans and Amena is in the kitchen doing something, I’m not sure what. Cedric is washing his dishes. Seth and Joseph are sitting at the table. Seth is eating and Joseph is playing. I need to get in the shower so I will bid you adieu.

Foggy Morn

The reason Laura and Paul hadn’t left is because Laura was dumping fuel into to the van. Four five gallon containers take a few minutes to empty. Adam was asleep at the table within about five minutes of arrival and moved to one of the couches before I was done with my shower. He slept for close to six hours while Ryan played with the boys.

I took the papers I needed to up to the college and dropped a book off at the library and went to Walmart. I got three quarts of cream (guess what for?), some allergy meds and Yorks (they work well for bribery purposes). Then I went to the garden center and got two bags of top soil, two bags of manure and three bags of potting soil for Daniel’s grave site. Yesterday I went down and pulled a few of the few weeds that are growing where I plan to plant things. Today I plan on attacking the area with a hoe and possibly a spade before I put slate around the edge and dump the bags. Then I’ll probably mix everything up well and call it day. Monday I will most likely plant things although I’m not entirely sure what yet.

As you might imagine, as we near the first anniversary of the accident, my thoughts turn to Daniel very often, almost continually. Some of the parents and grandparents who attend the Carriage House groups say that the second year can be more difficult than the first. The first year is hard, as some of you know, because everything is a first—the first Christmas without Daniel, the first time we went to Comet Pond without Daniel, the first Easter without Daniel, the first July 4^th without Daniel, etc. Not having been through the second year, I am not sure what it will be like but it seems like a year is such a short amount of time and yet it is a year. What will it be like to face the second Christmas without Daniel?

Earlier, when I took the dogs out for their morning walk, it was quite foggy. We saw some very interesting spider webs. The fact that one of them had snail trails in it attests to the strength of these things. Just amazing. By the time I went out to milk the goats, the fog had pretty much burnt off (but only because there was a pretty good time-lapse due to the fact that none of the dishes I use for milking and straining had been washed [including a jar]).

Laura is gone this morning on a temple trip. She was picked up at 5:30. There is a YSA (young single adult) tubing activity this afternoon I believe she is planning on going to as well. Adam was going to but we’re scheduled for a pretty good thunder storm at that time and someone is moving that he’ll probably help with. Nick hasn’t come over for a while. Paul is taking off to go to an estate sale. They’ve got a grill he’d like to get if it’s good as well as some earthenware bowls (like the ones I remember Grandma and my mom having [I had one of my mom’s for a while but it broke]). He is also taking Cedric with him because the boy has outgrown his Sunday shoes. Joanna has work this afternoon. Other than that, we’ll just be home doing things that need to be done.

Yesterday I went through all the books we have in buckets in the barn looking for math and reading books for Seth and Joseph. The ubiquitous ‘they’ at school wanted Seth to do summer school in order that he wouldn’t backslide but I figured I could do as good a job as ‘they’ could so I finally got the stuff out. We’ll only have about four weeks before school starts but I figure that since homeshool is usually better (in that more can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time), that will be long enough. I think the program ‘they’ wanted Seth to do was only six (but may have been eight) weeks long anyway. All I’m going to do is have him do for math is some Calvert workbook pages (which he has already let me know will be FUN!) and read books that I pick for him. Joseph is going to work on more but it will be pretty easy. I think he will find that he knows more than he thinks he does. He and Ryan were reading a couple of the books to me yesterday. Ryan knows all the letters and most of the sounds (he knows the primary sound for every letter and quite a few secondaries as well) but he doesn’t quite grasp how to sound out the words yet (and he won’t be four until Monday). Joseph knows all the letters and sounds and does know how to sound out the words—he just needs a LOT of practice. That and some cool Calvert math and he’ll be set.

AD, I agree about weekends getting busy. Even though I don’t think it is going to be a busy day, it will be. Life’s funny that way, isn’t it? How is that book you’ve been reading? The book I returned to the library yesterday was Falls the Shadow which is about Simon de Montfort the Earl of Leicester, Llewellyn ab Gruffydd the Prince of Wales and King Henry of England and his son Edward. Simon is often credited as the father of democratic government. I don’t believe he truly is but he pushed it for England for the last probably 30 years of his life. Simon was married to Nell, Henry’s sister and Llewellyn’s grandfather, Llewellyn Fawr, was married to their older half-sister Joanna. He eventually marries Simon and Nell’s daughter, Ellen. What a mess was nobility, eh? Anyway, Simon’s last battle was in Evesham and he was brutally murdered and his body desecrated (it was war, after all). This happened on August 4, 1265, seven hundred forty-six years and 363 days before Daniel died. Why do I mention this? I’m not sure. I love that period of history and it’s interesting, perhaps, that more than 700 years ago, a family was experiencing some of the same emotions we are today. It’s a common thread.

Mom, how is everything shaping up for moving? I know you had almost everything already packed when we were ‘talking’ via Facebook the other day. That has got to be a lot of fun and somewhat trying on the patience.

Becky, are you back from girls camp yet? I think Jay has been having too much fun without you in the kitchen.

Well, one and all, it is time for me to be out and doing. Have a wonderful Saturday.

Down toward the creek.
Fruit trees to the right.

The back field from near the barn.
You can see Scooters tail at the bottom.
Also, the rock to the left shows up later.

One of myriad low-lying webs.

One of the orb webs.

A better view of an orb web.
Very cool.

This is the one with snail trails.
It is on the other side of the rock (the side you see in the second picture) below.

Rock surrounded by webs.

The sun shining brightly.

Somewhere out there is a sail boat.

Fog through the trees.

Sun again (could you tell?)

And the petunias.

Cloudy Friday

A little bit late this morning. There are two loads of laundry on the table needing to be folded and everyone was eating around them so there wasn’t room for me to sit down earlier and I didn’t feel like taking my laptop somewhere else; mornings at the table are just too interesting to miss.

Our trip to the dentist was not bad. The weather, as it often does, changed so Joanna took her scooter to work so we didn’t have to squish in the Jetta and she didn’t have to go to work half an hour early. I think the boys are getting older. Because there were no older children at home, I couldn’t leave anyone home so they all had to go. I really was not looking forward to this because I know how they behave sometimes. However, amazingly, they were good. Cedric went in first, then Amena, and then me. Other good news—no decay (what happened to cavities?)

Yesterday afternoon Adam came over for a bit. He usually has Ryan but since he worked the night before and had to work again last night, he only had him for a few hours. He came over before and then again after (in time for cheesecake, of course) before leaving to go home for a nap before work.

We had macaroni and cheese for supper with salad. I couldn’t fit much in because I’d had two cups of milk and then two cups of tea (Paul got this really good berry iced tea—children like it way too much). I managed to eat a piece of cheesecake though. The boys were so busy being silly and misbehaving during supper that they lost cheesecake privileges. Last night I divided the remaining blueberry cobbler for Paul and Laura’s lunches today. This morning I added a piece of cheesecake to each and put another piece in another container (for Blair). That leaves only one piece and Seth thought that wasn’t fair. I told him that they gave up cheesecake, period, not just for the night but for the entire cheesecake. Maybe because they were so good in the morning they had worn it out and couldn’t do it in the evening. Whatever the case, once we were done with supper, we had prayer and read scriptures and they got to go to bed.

Last night we got a little rain. Nothing like the downpours we were told to expect leading to torrential flooding but some. Enough to make the ground look wet. Today is overcast and I’m not sure what the forecast is but it’s certainly more humid today than it was yesterday. The temperature isn’t bad.

The goats were good for milking. The biggest problem lately has been that Goldilocks doesn’t want to let the kids nurse after milking. There is no way I strip her so it’s just a matter of her not wanting to be touched. However, since the kids need milk, her behavior is not acceptable. The day before yesterday, Laura held her hind legs so they could eat. Yesterday I did. Both days she jumped and kicked and generally did not make it easy. Today, I held her again and while she did try kicking, she didn’t do any jumping so it wasn’t nearly as bad. Must be good for the hand and arm muscles, though.

Today we don’t have much going on. I need to make a copy of my driver’s license and take it and a couple of papers up to the Mount. Other than that, I need to stop at Walmart to get some more allergy pills and see if they have any more big bags of potting soil. I am ready to get some work done on Daniel’s gravesite.

Seth just announced that Adam just got here and indeed, he just drove up and he has Ryan with him. Funny because Paul and Laura have yet to leave. I’m not sure what they’re doing (Paul and Laura—when Adam needs to sleep, he sometimes comes here when he has Ryan because Ryan can play with the boys while Adam sleeps). Oh, well, with that, I believe it is time to sign off. Have a splendiferously wondrous day!

Cheesecake(s)

Crumbs.

One done, one in progress.
It's pretty obvious I didn't take time to take care of the chunks.

Two crusts done.

Cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and vanilla ready to go for the plain.

Mixed.
I have to admit that I didn't like the chunks so I put it in the blender before pouring.
Which is a good thing because I'd forgotten to add the sugar.

Poured.

Sour cream, sugar and vanilla ready to go for the chocolate.

Eggs ready to go and baking chocolate ready to melt.

After the eggs have been added.

Ready to mix in the melted chocolate.

Chocolate mixed in.

The side of the bowl.
I just thought this looked cool.

Both ready to go in the oven.
It's handy that if I do the chocolate in the shiny pan, they can both be baked at the same temperature, just different amounts of time.

Plain done.

Chocolate just out of the oven.

Both done.
The plain will get cherries added to it before we eat it.
The chocolate is heavenly just the way it is.

Just in case you might want the recipes, I decided to be nice and share them with you.

For the crust:

Ingredients:

18 Oreo cookies (we take the middles out and the human children eat them) finely crushed
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Mix crushed Oreo's and butter in springform pan with a fork. Press firmly onto bottom of pan.

For the plain cheesecake:

Ingredients:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Beat together in a blender or food processor the sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla and half of the cream cheese.
3. Add remaining cream cheese about 2-3 tablespoons at a time.
4. Add butter.
5. Pour into crust and bake just until set, about 35 minutes.

For the chocolate cheesecake:

Ingredients:

3 pounds cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 ounces baking chocolate (I like to use semi-sweet or bitter), melted
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees if using a sliver 9-inch springform pan or 300 degrees if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
3. Add melted chocolate and mix well.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended.
5. Pour over crust and bake 55 minutes to 1 hour until center is almost set.

And there you have it. For the cherries for the plain, I just drain the juice from a can or jar of unsweetened pie cherries. I mix about a tablespoon of corn starch with about a cup of sugar in a pot and slowly stir in the cherry juice. I stir this until it comes to a boil at whatever temperature I feel like (usually pretty high because I am not a fan of standing at the stove stirring). Once it's boiled for a minute or so, I remove it from the heat and stir the cherries in. And there you have it again.

Behold the cherry cheesecake.

Thursday Showers (I'm being hopeful, here)

Good morning! It is a cool, overcast day here with the possibility of thunder storms. I’m not sure I believe the thunder part but rain, maybe. Joseph had to go upstairs and put on a long sleeve shirt because he thought it was too cold with his short sleeve t-shirt. I think it feels good.

As is fairly typical, yesterday did not turn out quite like expected. Joanna did have work. Laura did go to work with Paul (and is officially on the payroll so I guess Blair likes her work—Paul reported that the guys who work in the back say she’s better than Adam [don’t tell him though]). Adam came over and took Amena, Seth and Joseph swimming to Goguen’s with him and Ryan. Because Joanna was planning on taking Cedric to eat at Friendlys and there wasn’t enough room in Adam’s car, Cedric stayed home with me and watched the first half of the seventh Harry Potter movie (which happens to be Amena’s).

I made two cheesecakes in the morning; one plain and one chocolate. I took lots of pictures, I’m not sure why, maybe just because I think it’s fun or something. In the afternoon I washed dishes for Seth. Sometimes I like to do the dishes so I can give the sink and stove-top a good cleaning and that is what I did. Cedric and I finished the ice-cream that was left so now it’s time to make more. I need to get more cream before I do that, though, and I’m not sure when I’ll be stopping at a store—I generally don’t like stores.

For supper we had ham cooked with pomegranate sauce and macaroni salad so I spent part of the afternoon working on that. The ham turned out really good. Paul picked up the pomegranate sauce in a store in Worcester I think which has odds and ends and never the same thing twice. The good thing is that he likes to shop at a place called Banana Joe’s where they have a deli and sell vegetables and fruit. He got three boxes of pomegranates last year and I ended up juicing about one box. Soooooo, I have a few jars of pomegranate juice (I turned one into jelly and it is really good) that I could use for ham (or whatever else I feel like—I wonder what it would be like on a turkey?). The macaroni salad turned out pretty good as well. Paul says it’s so lousy I shouldn’t let the kids have any more of it. I looked a recipe up online and it called for ¾ cup of sugar (can you believe it?). I doubled the recipe and tasted it and decided it did need some sugar but I only put ¼ cup in the whole thing and that was almost too much. The recipe called for a bell pepper which I left out and optional pimentos. We had a jar of them in the fridge so I took one out (they were cut in half) and looked at it and said to myself, “This is no pimento. This is a red bell pepper.” It’s absolutely ridiculous what people try to pull over on the general public.

Joanna got home and left with Cedric. Adam got home with Amena, Seth and Joseph earlier than I thought he would (which turned out to be because he had to drop Ryan off with his mother). We ate and Paul and Laura got home earlier than Paul normally does (the phones usually start ringing at 5:00 which makes leaving before 6:30 or 7:00 sometimes very difficult) so that Laura could go to institute at church. Joanna brought Cedric home because as it turns out, there were no Cub Scouts at church yesterday because the new scoutmasters didn’t quite get all of their paperwork done and the den leader wasn’t prepared to take over at such short notice. So, Joanna drove her scooter to church and Amena and Laura went with Adam. Paul worked on the foundation for the chicken coop—there is just one side left to do and then pour cement in the cinder blocks—until the bugs got too bad. Actually, I think what happened is he disturbed a new nest of yellow jackets or hornets (we have far too many of them and our official killer of them is not able to do the job any longer). While everyone else was busy, the little boys (one of these days Cedric will no longer qualify as one of the ‘little’ boys—what a dreadful day that will be), watched one of the Ice Age movies. I hung laundry outside and folded some inside (which was amazingly exciting).

Today Laura is going with Paul again. Slightly funny story there. Blair asked Paul (because he’s afraid to talk to anyone else) what Laura’s availability was. Paul said, in effect, “Well, she’s about to start working full-time as a waitress at Friendlys.” That’s when he put her on the payroll. I guess he thinks there’s enough to keep her busy even if there isn’t anything to do out back. Joanna is working. She wants a ride today because it’s supposed to rain when she’s supposed to go to work and when she’s supposed to get off. That’s fine except we’ll have to take the Jetta and Cedric, Amena and I have dental appointments at 11:00; because Joanna will be heading to work and Laura will be gone, I’ll have to take not only Cedric and Amena but Seth and Joseph as well. That means there won’t legally be room for Joanna as well. Should be fun. I also need to stop by the doctor’s office to get a paper and then take it over to the Mount. Should be a fun filled and exciting day. Especially it looks like it might be spitting outside already. It is.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day and accomplish all the things you hope to.

In the Garden and Yard Today

Why I don't like chipmunks.

Up close why I don't like chipmonks.

And another up close why I don't like chipmunks.

And again.

Eggplant getting bigger.

How many tomatoes can you find?

Sunflower blossom.
Not really very pretty but certainly intereseting.



Marigolds.

Cucumbers.

It appears that at least one of the mystery volunteer squash is a pumpkin.



Baby zucchini.

Cantaloupe plant.

Cucumber blossom.

West end of the garden.
Sunflowers on the right, peppers in the front, tomatoes after the peppers.
You can see the hollyhock leaning in the corner.
If you know what to look for you can see an eggplant just about dead center and a third of the way down.

Leaning hollyhock.
From the other side it is even more apparent

Watermelon blossom.

Purple coneflower down by the rock wall at the end of the driveway.
I love this one.



Purple coneflowers.