Memories

I just happened to be perusing through some of my pictures this morning, and figured it was time for an update here.

Funny how looking back through pictures can evoke some of the best memories.

First off, this was taken on the 4th of this year, it's the area we set up around our pool. Nice little sitting area. It's not finished yet, intentions are to paint the backdrop all white and add a few signs that I have, that say things such as "NUDE BEACH"..."NO WAKE"..."BEACH CHAIR RENTAL $1.00 A DAY" ..very cute signs that my daughter in law Ashley made for me. (they now reside in my guest bathroom)

Now, the reason for the 'backdrop' as it is, well, we live in the boonies, no neighbors. Now, if you lived out in the middle of nowhere, and had a small pool what would YOU want to do?? That's right..skinny dipping! (NUDE BEACH..remember!). The only minor view was from the road. (If people drove by slow enough, they'd surely see something!) So we blocked that view. Now we can nude beach it whenever we want!

While Niel and Ashley were visiting, we drove to Ashley's house (daughter) on Monday. My kids have not been in the same room with each other in several years, so luckily we got a shot. So here are my two kids, and my one grandchild (currently) for the first time in MANY MOONS!

Several years ago, , Wanda and Linda, (two of my sisters), Robin and Suzanne (two close friends),Ashley (DIL) and I got together for a 'girls weekend' in Savannah, Ga.

We had a BLAST. We strolled round Savanna, got kicked off the free bus (!..seriously!), ate lunch at Paula Deans & Sons, and got our feet wet in a downtown fountain. (I'm pretty SURE we weren't supposed to do that either!) Take a look, then I'll explain what happened to get us kicked off the free bus!
Here we are, being bad in one of the downtown fountains. We actually got all the way in it before this session was over. We had a rolling wet time! (but hey, at least we didn't get arrested!)

This is before the bus incident!

We had lunch at Paula Deans & Sons. We got the waiter, who was a TRIP to take this pic of all of us at the table, AFTER the carnage!

It just so happened that Robin (the red head and long time friend) along with Ashley had just recently celebrated birthdays close to each other. So, we celebrated at Paula Deans with them as well.

And now, to the story of getting kicked off the free bus.

In Savannah, they have a free bus that you can take all around Savannah. There are disignated stops throughout the downtown area, and you can get around a good many places, across town and so on without having to walk. The buses are even air conditioned, which is good in the heat of a Savannah summer. So the 6 of us decided to take a break from our walking and ride the free bus across town to our next adventure. We wait at the bus stop and up rolls the bus. All of us loaded onto the bus and went to the back where the empty seats were. WHEW! Were we thankful for the air conditioning! Now, the bus driver, was..let's just say she was not gentle with that bus..OH NO..she was not. She whipped those corners and curves so fast and rough, we were gripping the 'ohshitbars' in the bus rather tightly. Suddenly, Wanda shouts out "Drive it like you stole it honey!" (all in fun mind you!) Well..I don't think the bus driver cared too much for this, who knows, maybe someone burnt her toast that morning, but at the next stop, she told us we had to get off! Can you believe it..we were kicked off the FREE bus in Savannah! So..as it turned out, we walked anyway.

We enjoyed the nightlife of Savanna as well. We had someone (aka: Suzanne!) take this picture for us..I swear, she must have already been enjoying a good bit of the Savannah night life, but the picture was too cool for me to toss.
However, we did hit a few 'clubs' as it were. Wanda is a karoke singer, so of course, she entertained the crowd! Her and the DJ broke out with Rob Zombies 'Dragula' if you can believe that one!

Ahh..the bar life! We happened upon a very nice bar, on one of our tours of the 'haunted bars of Savannah'..also known as "The Haunted Pub Crawl". Me and Suzanne (long time best friend) loved the couch they had in the place, and we sure did make ourselves comfy on it!

The next day, during the heat of the day, we retreated back to our hotel for a tea party. Sister Linda decided she was going to give the girls a tea party. You should have seen the look on the hotel clerks face when Linda popped down and said "Do you happen to have any plates and forks that we could use, I'm giving a tea party this afternoon in my room and I'm fresh out." He was taken aback, but quickly provided us with the necessary items. Little did he know, it was a tea party all right..with wine!

Well, that's it everyone. Just thought I'd share some of our good times from a few years back.

Oh yes, one more thing. Now, before you look at this picture, KNOW that this was not done intentionaly, I just happened to catch it on film! My DIL was getting ready to 'go out on the town' to experience the Savannah night life. As she was putting on her make up, I caught her in the act ..in the mirror. She had no clue, she was using her fingers in such a way.

Till next time! Come see me..down on the farm!

Greetings!

Well, though I may have been busy for the past several weeks, I did accomplish to get about 4 more quilt squares sewn. It's a never ending process I'm sure, and I have no where near enough to make my quilt yet, but with steady going at it, I'm sure I will by winter. Quilting is much more 'fun' in winter, if I decide to take it off the quilt frame and use a lap frame, it keeps my legs warm while I work.
That was something my mother always did. She'd start a new afghan just as summer was ending, so that by the time winter came along, it was big enough to cover her lap. She'd work on it all winter, using it as a lap covering while she worked. She usually finished one in a few months and they were always beautiful.
I never took to crochet. I can do it, sure. I've even made a few small bed top afghans, but for some reason, I just never took to crochet. Something tells me, as I grow older I may want to give it a try again. Who knows, maybe it just wasn't a good time for me to 'give it a go' and we all know, we change through life. Next time I try, I may take to it much better.

It's still blueberry season here, and will be untill the end of July. I've got a very large basket of blueberries just waiting for me to clean, de-stem and freeze. They will be in the freezer come nightfall tonight (or before). Last Sunday I made some wonderful homemade Blueberry waffles. I made an extra large batch, cooked them all and put them in the freezer for use through the week. (if they can do it at the stores, I can do it at home!)

I had to whip up some homemade laundry detergent this morning, as I'm doing loads of laundry today and ran out! I've been using homemade laundrty detergent on and off for most of my 'married life'. I find it works just as good as store bought. When I have extra dirty laundry I add extra or use a little liquid dish detergent..it seems to fight the grease well.

As I was going through some things the other day, I realized I had quite a collection of 'oils'..such as coconut, grapeseed, olive, veggie and even some clarified store bought lard. I'm going to get all these oils together and make a large batch of soap in a few weeks (I'm hoping). I've got plenty of different scents to use, but I will pick one universal good smelling scent and make many bars of soap to give out as Christmas gifts this year. Add the homemade soap to some home canned jams and maybe some cookies and my Christmas is all wrapped up! (just gotta look for some baskets!)

My daughters birthday is coming up in a few weeks and she has made a special request for a present. She's wanting a basket full of different spices & herbs to use in the kitchen, with little cards that specify what each spice or herb is good on or best used in or for. That's an easy one, so I'll be working on that in the upcoming week.

So tell me, what are all my fellow Hedgewives working on this week?

Share you week with us. We can always use the inspiration!

Adventures? ((GRAPHIC CONTENT!)

I had forgotten to post the 'new' things we've been getting around here. EGGS!

Yep, the ladies starting laying finally, about 2 weeks ago (maybe less). It always seems like it takes forever for those first eggs to show up, but they finally do.

The eggs are still small, but they will get bigger. We've got at least 4 hens laying, maybe more. Check these little jewels out.



It's a pretty site to see, specially knowing there will be no more egg buying for us! WHEW!

Speaking of eggs and chickens, last night was an adventure! Not one we are not used to here for sure, but last night, I trudge to the coop to close up, even though I was late and it was dark, I saw a shape in the nests that wasn't supposed to be there. It was long, and slithery and curved.

Without batting an eye, or reaching my hand up to close the egg hatch, I trot back to the house, ask my warrior of a son if he'd like to practice some shooting? I get out the .22 hand it over, grab the flashlight and away we go. Where the intruder was positioned was going to be hard to shoot without causing a ruckus in the coop, so he handed me the gun to hold, took the long stick that I use to prop open the run door and disturbed our unwanted visitor.
He slithered out of the nest and down under the coop. The boy child bent down and with a few well aimed shots, our scaley friend met his doom. It was a very large rat snake, about 5-6ft long! Did we reach under and grab him up? No, I left him where he lay. After going outside this morning for the feeding, the chickens had not even touched the big boy. So I took the handy stick and pulled him out to the middle of the run. As I was leaving, they were starting to peck at him. He'll be a memory by the end of the day. I did however, snap some pics of the fateful event. Here's the graphic part! CLOSE YOUR EYES!

Ok......so what is it?? ..............Oh you chickens! I'll go first!


((peck peck)) This isn't bad! ......Tell us!! What was it like?

Let the carnage begin! It's like Thanksgiving to them!! LOL. Either way, there will be no egg stealing snakes round these parts!

We are heading to the daughters today to visit with her and Brayden for a while. When we get home, Niel and Ashley (and soon to be baby) will be packing up for their long journey back to NY.
They are going home with a carload... Baby shower gifts galore!

I'm sure Maya has enjoyed her visit with her family too. Maya's sister Iris belongs to Niel and Ashley, along with Maya's son, Aiden, and they came along to visit as well.



The sisters, chatting away! ........The three stooges

Now, here's the story. Iris and Maya are sisters. Maya..well let's just say, she got out once a few years back when her 'time' was in and she met up with a tall stranger. Aiden, the big white monster was a product of that meeting! Aiden is easily 6ft or better when he stands on his back legs and near 100lbs. He is a BIG BOY!

He's loveable though. :) (clumsy..but loveable!)


Well, that's it for now..visit again soon and join us in our adventures....down on the farm.

It's been a while

But we have not disapeared...I promise!!

Many of the garden items are coming to the end of their season. The cucs are almost done, the leaves and vines are all drying back and dying out. The tomato's are near to be doing, we've probably got a few more weeks with those. The zuchinni and squash are still doing ok and acutally the zuchinni is just coming into play because we had that surprise plant, which turned out to be a pumpkin. I've pulled the pumpkin plant of course, and now the zuchinni is coming to life! Late, but still, working it's magic!

Those bell peppers that had that seed borne disease are coming along. I did not treat them with any chemicals, just started taking off each leaf that would get the problem. Now, we've got some nice pretty bell pepper plants that are blooming. They will also be late in the year for production, but that's ok too.

The gourds are all over the fence and I'll try to get some pictures of them posted soon.

We've got flowers blooming here and there and even had a surprise flower show up, that I planted thinking it was something else, but alas..it was not what I thought it was. Here are pics.

Thanks to the help of the posters at Mary Janes farm, I have discovered this is a "Spider Lilly", it's very pretty and very different. I'm hoping it will 'winter' well.

I'll try to post some pics soon of the revamped garden, as we are getting ready to put in our fall/winter crops, so we've retilled many of the areas and have the seeds on standby!

Till then, grab your garden apron and meet me down at the garden gate, it's harvest time! (So bring a basket!)

Hello Ladies

My last few weeks have been busy busy busy! I've had family in for their visit, a babyshower/4th of July party and all the busyness of getting ready for it!

I've managed to keep things 'up' as it were around the house here, but have gotten behind in some things. But hey..no one is dying because I didn't sweep the ceilings ya know! LOL

I've pulled out some old crafts and started working on those again recently. My goal is to make a quilt completely by hand, the way the Pioneer women did. You'll have to help me keep going on this, because sometimes..I do get lazy! LOL







Yesterday I made a banana/nut/spice bread that was really delicious. I've posted the recipe I concocted on the Hedgewife forum, so take a look and give it a try! It was/is good! (hhhh?? breakfast anyone?)

I've got some clothes to hang out today, but it's looking like it's to rain, so I'm debatable about hanging them out or using that modern convience of the dryer!
What to do what to do!

I'm supposed to be working on a SNOWMAN..in the middle of summer! HELP!!
LOL..I've not quite gotten in the mood for Christmas yet, but I'm hoping I can get this guy done. I haven't even started, but I guess I will by tonight!

So tell me Hedgewives..what have you been up to lately??

Don't forget to visit the forum http://hedgewife.forumandco.com/index.htm
And we can chat about anything and everything Hedgewife style! See you there!

Sage

I'm back!

Thought I'd share a few more pictures with you, and ask all you bloggers a question.

Here's the latest craft I've been working on. Actually, this is a long term, ongoing craft. About a year ago I started going through some of my saved materials and scraps and cutting out many squares of all sizes. From medium/large, to small. My goal? To make a quilt completly by hand. No machine sewing to it. I got quite a few blocks sewn many moons ago, then had to put it aside for life in general. Recently I've pulled it all out again, and have started sewing the blocks together again. A true patchwork, done the old fashioned way. So here are a few pictures of some of the blocks I've done, and some of the many blocks that are cut and awaiting the sewing. I'll need some ecouragement to keep going with this project, but I will keep you all updated on it's progress!

These are some of the blocks that I've already sewng together, basic 9 patch design.

These are some matched and ready to sew, and many cut and waiting.

And here is the big question for all you bloggers. I was given this plant many years ago..about 4. I've had it in the house, with nothing happening to it, just growing and keeping it alive. I always thought it was an Amaryllis. This year, I decided to plant it outside. I was surprised, to say the least, when it gained it's large middle stalk and produced these flowers. Needless to say, it's not what I thought it was, and I am clueless as to what it is. So, Do you know what this is??

Here's a basic side view.

And this is looking down from the top.

So tell me...do you know what it is? I'd love to know!

So meet me down here on the farm, we'll figure this out together!!

WELCOME....

To our 4th of July party!
It's taken me a few days to get this up..so I must apologize. SORRY! I was just really ..uhmm tired! Yeah, that's it, tired! But here it is, some pictures and a story or two from our 4th of July party/shower.


Here's a few of the cast of characters!






This is Ashley..my daughter and her son, the newest addition to our family, Brayden.....We call her Ashley1 because....













My Son...Niel married an Ashley as well, whom we call Ashley2
And they are now expecting their first little addition

SEE>>>>>>>>











This is Tony..AKA BuckWild, BigMan, Local Law enforcement..take you're pick. He's my nephew. He married Melanie back in October of last year. Beautiful wedding, and party here afterwards. Fireworks then too! We tried to warn Melanie of what she was getting into, but did she listen .....nooooo! So she's stuck with us now!








This is Amanda, my niece and of course Tony's sister, with Dino her hubby. They were married last year too, and again, we tried to warn Dino, but did he listen?? nooooooooooooo ..(why don't they listen?!)















And this is Scott, my hubby. He didn't listen either!

Ahh, here comes the first story for the day, and it's a FISH story!

First thing Scott did on this beautiful July 4th was pulled out the boat and take her out fishing. GUESS WHAT? Here's the booty he brought home! It was a 21 inch Red Fish.

This July 4th party was a combo party for us. A baby shower and 4th party.
Niel and Ash2 traveled from Upstate New York for their final visit for the year since the baby is due on Nov 21.

The chairs were set, the pool was up, cleaned and ready to roll. We were ready! So as everyone started arriving, the drinks were passed around and food was getting prepared.

Manda and Dino arrived with their girls and the drink cooler (wonder whats in THERE!) Cami the little dog under foot just had to get in on the action, she greets everyone!

Big Man and Melanie arrived in their usual HARLEY STYLE !


And before you know it, the girls were in the pool enjoying the day staying wet!

This is Trinity and Shaylee, Manda's two girls. The pool was their domain for the day.

So comes our second story of the day. We are rolling right along, having a grand time chatting and laughing. Now Big Man is sitting and enjoying himself AND like he normally does, rocking back on two legs in his chair. We don't call him Big Man for no reason, I've mentioned before, Tony stands 6'4 and is not someone you want to run into in the dark. Bad thing happened this day, Tony was rocking back in the chair, but it was merely a plastic chair. WRONG thing to do. Here is a before shot.

Now, take notice of the chair. Plastic..yep, just plastic.

What happened next, (it is a shame that no one had a camera in hand and ready) because the back legs on the chair decided to buckle under, they bent in and Tony took a very slow motion roll all the way back, to the ground. We all watched, as he flug his arms wide in a swinging motion to save his ass, but alas, he hit the ground. You know what we did then? ...we all started laughed our asses off! Everything behind Tony (the gift table for the shower) went flying!
We got Big Man up, dusted him off, gave him some aspirin and said "awww you'll be alright!", while we continued to giggle and laugh. He's good though, I gotta admit. He didn't even spill his beer! Now, here is an after shot.

His wife Melanie is trying to show him what he did on his perilous journey to the ground. She's still laughing! She fits into this family, so maybe it's a good thing she didn't listen!

Anyway, notice the chair change? He's now in a metal chair so no legs will buckle when he rocks back. And trust me, he continues to rock back on two legs. He didn't learn one thing from his meeting with the ground, nope not one!

As the day wore on, we shared food and good company, more visitors arrived and babies were passed around to cuddle and hold.

The night ended of course with our fireworks. As we sat around enjoying the display I was sad to see the night come to an end. Meet me next time, for our adventures ..........down on the farm!