If I had a gun and some ammo...

If I feed them marshmallows and homemade chocolate chip cookies will-they-just-for-the-love-of-God-leave-my-sweetcorn-alone???!!! So far in the past two days I have gone out to the garden in the morning and found a huge mess in our sweet corn...stalks laying in the dirt, corn cobs with tiny teeth marks and corn husks thrown all over the garden...it wouldn't be so bad if the little eaters-of-"my"-corn...corn which was planted by "me"..weren't so darn messy!! They have absolutely NO respect for a persons wishes...for example: I do not "wish" to have our garden raided by four-legged creatures with bushy striped tails ...nor do I "wish" to find a humongous pile of half eaten corn and fuzzy corn fluff and broken corn stalks laying all over the cucumbers, onions and peppers!!! Thats just plain RUDE!! Kruze and I have had to "baby" that corn all summer...we even had to "replant" every single stalk after a nasty storm blew through and flattened all of the corn right to the ground !! And now it seems completely unfair that a bunch of furry little stealers-of-corn are eating our hard work!!! Wheres my RIFLE!!

Baby buzzy bee.... 

Dragonfly... 

Butterfly... 

Kruze's new fishin' buddies...Oh The HORROR!! 

Oom-pa-loom-pas and my very own brand-spankin' new fishing pole...

Yesterday we went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" it was...Hmmmmm.....an "experience"...I will let ya all form your own opinions. All that I will say is...I wasn't luv'n those teeth!! Those are the things nightmares are made of!! But I did love Johnny Depp...can't say I've ever seen him play a bad role...he can become anyone. I think that in the 2 hours we spent in the theater we collectively ate and drank enough sugar to make our dentist a VERY wealthy man !!We polished off the jumbo bucket of popcorn (extra butter and salt) (2) 5 gallon "buckets" of soda, a huge box of Dots (my favorite are JuJu Bs but Dots will do in a pinch) and a 3 pound bag of peanut M&Ms ...lets just say we were not winning any awards for parents of the year yesterday!! (I probably shouldn't mention that we all had ice cream for supper...but-we-did...) Anyway after the movie Kruze decided he wanted to take me fishing so he bought me my very own brand-spankin'-new fishing pole !! Its my very first ever never-been-fished-by-another-sole open reel fishing pole!!I'm positive that he will forever regret the day he ever said "hey..let's get you a fishin' pole!! Gone are the days when I sat quietly next to him looking at my magazines and watching him peacefully cast and reel.Last night I managed to disconnect my reel from my rod,get my line stuck in several trees several times , accidently reel the line backwards for so long that it was wrapped around the pole, the reel and itself so tightly that it took Kruze (and the patience of Ghandi) 20 minutes to unravel it, I spilt his coke all over Em's lap (twice) and I'm pretty sure my big mouth scared away every fish that even nibbled on my line example: "OH MY GOD I HAVE A NIBBLE !!!" Yep...I'm pretty sure he's lookin' for the reciept for that pole and hoping its possible to return a fishing license...

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children, one of these is roots,the other,wings...

~Hodding Carter~
Thought for the day

Duck Rodeo.... 

Ridin' like a true cowboy(girl)....bare back...  

YEEHAAAA!!! Unfortuneatly the better pic would have been the one of Kruze and his Buckin' chipmunk but his "ride" got the best of him and he was "thrown" before I could snap a shot....DAMN Chipmunks!!  

A full "Funeral Parlor" ....

What a morbid thought...I know...but lately I have been looking at my life in terms of the people that I know and love.For instance all of the people in my life including casual acquaintances...have I made a good impact...bad impact...no impact? Recently a man that lived on a farm near us passed away...the night of his wake there were so many people that came to pay their respects that they had to enter the funeral parlor in shifts, he touched that many people in his short life...this made me wonder...if I died tonight...would my funeral parlor be full...have I done enough in my life to deserve the tears of others? Is that vain? To wonder if you mattered? To hope that you do? Most days I feel like a major disappointment to every one.. my husband...my girls....my sister,mother,grandmother, friends even strangers...I should have said this...I should have done that...should have called...written...read one more bedtime story...played barbies...listened better...God the list just goes on and on...its pathetic...and a bit neurotic I admit. But really... is it better to live your life wondering if your making the right choices doing the right things or better to live without any regrets? If I tell my friends that I love every unique thing about them is that enough...like how Alisha can finish my sentences and how we always seem to know what the other is thinking and how she has me on speed dial and how we can talk every day for hours and never run out of things to say and how we are positive we were sisters in another life. Like how Connie 1 (Conradgofercheeks) knows everything about me from the age of 13 til now and still she loves me and how we can go for months without seeing each other...and then get together and its like no time has passed at all. Like how Jane laughs at everything I say and can still make me giggle just like we did when we were in school. And how she was there during some of the most memorable days of my life. Like how Connie 2 and I can go from crying together to laughing together in the very same breathe and how she listens and understands and never judges. Like how Anna (my sis) has been the twin to my soul since the day she was born.How she can look at the smile on my face but still see the truth in my eyes and how she has the most amazingly big heart .I could list everyone in my life and I will no doubt regret not listing everyone...WARNING: Sappy heartfelt statement ahead: I do love my friends and family and maybe I don't always say and do the right things but always you guys mean the world to me...hopefully I am to you ...what you all are to me...

Moments before having to be rescued by Kruze and his 40 ft ladder.... 

Life...not always sunsets and crisp clean linens...

Yesterday was the last day of Kruze's 8 day vacation, we spent it (at least part of it) in an antique shop looking at seriously over priced "stuff" (loosely termed...I know... one man's junk...another man's treasure) including a $185 free standing poster board of Micheal J Fox in his role as "Teen Wolf" maybe thats a steal to people that collect cardboard cut outs of fuzzy men?As a treasure...I just can't get my head wrapped around that one....After antique shopping we hung out at the city park...where they have a Zebra , a Duck, a Chipmunk and a turtle all on huge metal springs . I know that you have all seen these things...they wobble every which direction and you feel like your in the rodeo...only instead of ridin' a massive buckin' Bronco your ridin' a tiny metal turtle meant for a 4 year old...I LOVE them!!! You.Have.Not.Lived.Until.You.Have.Riden a wobbling bright yellow duck with painted red lips in your own personal duck rodeo!! And there are pics to prove it!!
After supper we went down to the lake so Kruze could fish and the girls and I could watch the sunset...it "should" have been one of those nights...you know...perfect...with the colors and the water and the family...all Norman Rockwell...FAT CHANCE!! It was more like all WWF Smackdown with the screamin' and the rock throwing and the "I'm thirsty" "Gotta Pee" " Get your feet out of my face" "Leave my pet rock alone" Don't touch it" "You Stink" "Your not my sister!!" "NO! I don't want to smell your feet!" ""Why can't the sun go down faster!!" ?????" "Why are those people looking at us?" (Geez...I wonder!!) It was a LIVING NIGHTMARE!! And it just couldn't get over fast enough!! After the carnage...we drove home and tied the monsters to their beds (not literally). I thought there would finally be peace...so I went in to use the bathroom(I will spare you the details) 2 minutes after being seated...I hear a small knock..."Just a sec..." no response...another louder knock...."Hold on almost done.." "MOM HURRY UP!!!" BANG BANG BANG!!! Suddenly the bathroom door flys open and my 8 year old comes running in grabs me off the throne in mid wipe and throws her own buns down on the seat ....there I stood britches around my ankles ritual cut short by a small child obviously not schooled properly in the fine art of bathroom politics ....and all I can think is... I have no one to blame "butt" myself ...

My favorite rock for day dreamin'... 

Small rapids... 

Sandhill crane sunning himself on an old stone bridge... 

Butt-naked Rain Dance...

I am sure that the farmers in our area are down on their knees beggin' God to throw a little rain our way...and every time I walk through our garden I swear I can hear the vegtable plants begging through cracked parched lips "WATER" "WATER". If I knew how to do an Ancient Indian Raindance I would trot around my yard and be beggin' right along with the farmers.This morning we had these HUGE clouds right over our house and surrounding fields and I could see how they were bursting with enough rain to give these crops a huge thirst quenching gulp, but instead they just floated by teasing and taunting , its a wicked cloud that chooses not to empty itself on a rain deprived dirt cracked field...and we have had no mercy from any of the clouds that have passed over us all day. On a more friendly note...yesterday we spent the day at a popular waterpark, we had a blast and several coldwater enemas...after we had become the proper shade of 'scorched red' we called it a day...but not before we spent an hour or so shopping on the "strip" where we found a few antique shops and some cute little novelty shops where my guy found a display of incense with some very interesting "scents" for instance at the moment our entire house has the soft and pleasant deep smoky aroma of "Butt-Naked" one of the scents "he" chose...ironically "Butt-Naked" smells very much like Sweet Pea blossoms after a rain storm...

Photo from the past...our house...1964 

Photo from the past...our barns... 

Pullin' weeds, pickin' beans,soakin' buns...

Well Kruze's family all left this morning,we had alot of fun while they were here, we played croquet, and Bocce ball,we sat on the porch looking at country magazines and drinking ice tea ,we spent a day roamin' the roads looking for antique shops and farmers markets we ate ton's of food(Kruze even threw a turkey on the grill) and at least one of us hit the "Mike's hard lemonade"..surprizingly it was not me!! We stayed up late every night playing cards until we had to scotch tape our eyelids to keep them open.It was sad to see them go ....after the last hug was squeezed and the last hand was waved we watched the dust roll down the driveway after the last car drove away...then we spent the day weedin' the garden, pickin' loads of beans and just spending time with each other.(After supper I blanched all the beans and stored them in the freezer for this winter just in case we get snow bound just like on "Little House on the Praire.").... Just a day...and now I'm listening to the tub fill up with hot tangerine scented bubbly water and soon my bun's..they will be soakin'....

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days...we are sending time with Kruze's family...I will post soon...miss you all..  

Random shots of home... 

blue glass... 

broken windchimes... 

bloom and barn... 

treasures found... 

A day for Anna...  

She

She is my heart.
She opens doors to rooms
I never knew were there,
Breaks through walls
I don't recall building.
She lights my darkest corners
with the sparkle in her eyes.

She is my soul.
She inspires my wearied spirit
to fly on wings of angels.
But while she holds my hand
my feet stay on the ground.
She stills my deepest fears
with the wisdom of her song.

She is my past.
She writes my history
In her eyes, I recognize myself.
She holds memories only we can share.
She remembers, she forgives
she excepts me as I am
with tender understanding.

She is my future.
She lives within my dreams
She sees my undiscovered secrets,
Catches me when I stumble.
She walks in step beside me,
Always lighting my way.

She is my strength.
She hears the whispered prayers
that my lips cannot speak,
She helps me find my smile
freely giving hers away.
She catches my tears
and holds them gently in her hands.

She is like no one else
my most treasured friend
Filling up the empty spaces
Healing broken places.
She is my rock, my inspiration.
And impossible to define
in just one word...my sister.

L.Lorden

For Anna's Birthday...

Short essay...Still not "country"

We moved from the city 2 years ago...and ever since I have been curious to learn how long you have to live in the country before your country neighbors stop referring to you as "c-i-t-y", for example, the time I locked myself out of our house and had to run through the corn field in flipflops to our neighbors house to use their phone...Neighbors stunned reaction : "you lock your doors? " the word "city" bounced sweetly off her tongue and smacked me up side the head. Then there was the time I tried to rotartill our garden all-by-myself and managed to wrap 4 feet of our garden fence around the rotartiller blades ...the farmer that owns the fields around us drove by on his tracker witnessed the destruction shook his head while laughing and I swear I seen him mouth that vile word "CITY" . There are many more examples like the time I accidently started our yard on fire and the fact that my husband plows our 8 gazillion mile long driveway every winter with a man operated snowplow...you know... the kind you see in the "CITY" !!! Well today I have committed the ultimate "city" act...and this one should guarantee me the label "City" for many years to come...Friends...Family...Perfect Strangers...I am completely embarrassed to admit that.....I-have-weeded-the-farmers-cornfield !! Not the "whole" 80 acres just the very small almost none existent part that borders our front yard... it only took me 1 hour and 15 minutes... surely that falls within the realm of sanity?! Doesn't it? My only defense is that I was trying to acheive perfect harmony between edge of yard and beginning of cornfield...I know...I know...altogether now...C-I-T-Y and lets just throw CERTIFIBLE in there too just for good measure!!

Escape Artist...(on the left) 

Houdini's Great Escape

We have two "Flemish Giant" rabbits, Houdini and Piper both males....they live together in one cage which sits inside a large chain link fenced in area, every morning my girls run outside for bunny duty (in their mismatched pajamas and rubber boots) to feed and water the bunnies..but more importantly to let them out of their cage and into the fenced in area so the boys can kick up a fuss. Usually the boys are well behaved and the most trouble they get into is when one decides to use the other ones head for a bed or a chair. I have seen the face of an ANGRY bunny and believe me its not pretty!! Occasionally there are the times when Houdini mysteriously manages to lock Piper back in the cage leaving the entire fenced in area to himself, I can usually tell when this has happened because I can hear the fence rattling and shaking and when I run outside to see what the heck is going on , I find Houdini in the middle of a one Bun rabbit race around the fence... grass and dirt flying through the air...thats the worst of the misbehavin'... until today ...when Houdini decided to "channel" the "real" Houdini's spirit and escape the "bunny lock-down" by digging a hole so large even the inmates that escaped Alcatraz would be impressed !! I found him grazing in our lawn near the edge of the clover field behind our house...thank god he had no idea he was standing so close to rabbit heaven...I would never have caught him if he'd wrapped his little bunny lips around his first taste of clover...

Feelin' a little like a reject... 

Sad Sad day... I got the "BOOT"

Well I got booted off "houseblogs.net" today because I have a lack of home restoration related posts on my site...I feel a little sad and my tummy feels a little sick (I feel like the last kid to be picked to a team)and I will miss all of the people that posted comments to my site from Houseblogs but I understand...Ironically I have just gotten a bunch of my restoration project pictures sorted through and in order and I am ready to start posting them to my site...sad. Oh well...my first blog related rejection...its a deep cut.

Here are a few of my very favorite summer things...first and absolute favorite...the smell of crisp clean linens on the line...  

Window boxes...