Lauream Terry's Obituary

Cliff's mother called us early Saturday morning to tell us that Lauream, Eletta's mother had passed away.  Eletta is married to Cliff's oldest brother James.  click here to read the obituary

It's Storytime- with OJ AND the shop building

I realize the two above are totally random- but I seem to remember taking some type of test in high school that labeled me Concrete Random- so there- we have concrete floors and two random topics- I guess I was typecast correctly.

Today was Lauren's last day at Comm Central and Kindergarten graduation- we start again the first Monday in August.  She really did not want to stay after lunch...... so Mommy took her home- even though I knew it would be a long time before getting downtime.  She came home and helped daddy put up some of the structure of the shop building and then she came inside and read for just a little over an hour to me.  OJ the cat was glad to be included.  Below you can see kitty storytime and some of the shop framework along with Cliff's scissor lift.  You have no idea how glad I will be to have this shop building up- stuff out of the yard and the garage- yippee!!!!  Just when do I start charging Meow and the kittens rent for their stay in the garage......kidding- I love having them there and knowing they are safe and cared for. 

# 4 and # 5

Lost the top, two front teeth this week- the fourth and fifth ones to go!!!  We'll have to reschedule our spring portraits for a later date.

Gold Glow Roses

Having heard the forecast for heavy rains in our area, Lauren and I decided to clip our first blooms of the season to enjoy indoors.  She renamed  the Gold Glow hybrid tea- "Lemonade".  We were enchanted with it's first opening hue of a beautiful shade of peachy-apricot- a few hours later, it became the color you see above.  The fabric above is one of three audtioning to be placemats on our bar- this one is the front runner  with the soft yellow paisleys and pinky red sweetheart roses AND it looks great with our butter cookie paint color.  The other two have a more summery feel with reds, royal blues, creams and yellows. 

Bye Bye Bishops and Bows

This picture was taken a few Sunday ago on the way to church.  When pulling her hair back (she rather wear it down) I snuck in a hair bow.  Later in the bathroom at church, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and said- "I do not like bows!"  Climbing into her booster seat in dad's truck- she pulled  it out and handed it to me.  So sad to see them go- but will try to get her to wear them to church and forgo them during the week- sounds like a good compromise to me.  Just wondering when she will protest wearing the bishop style dress above as well.  The smocking plate is Creative Keepsakes Cynthia-one of my very favorites I have made for her.  Thinking she might wear them longer if they are either shortened to be like a top or in the angel sleeves style- I am not ready to give up the smocked bishops yet.  At least she we still have yoke and mary de styles that she does like to wear.

Newborn Kittens- short video clip

Meow has six kittens. She gave birth to them Sunday after lunch - on a boat- underneath it's tarp. I came home Monday to move the kittens to the garage and discovered Meow and the black kitty missing. Used this opportunity to move the remaining 5 without Meow interfering and leaving door open. A few seconds later, Meow appeared with the missing cutie and allowed me to carry it into the garage with her following closely behind. She quickly jumped into the box and all was well. Lauren is having a great time talking to all of them and softly petting them and making sure each kitten has it's own "nibble". The kitten crawling around Meow's back resembles are 10 year old inside cat- OJ- named after a former stray we adopted-Orson- who was named after Orson Welles- they both had oversized heads - at least to me they did.

What are You Reading???

Currently - I am reading the above books- make that rereading Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose- a real treat, I promise- you will love reading her humourous tales that preclude each recipe- even if you are not southern.  Wonderful recipes as well- my favorite is the Chile Lime Skirt Steak recipe and my favorite story would be for the mailbox cocktail - you will have to read it yourself- check your local library for a copy.

So Easy by Ellie Krieger is written in a format that I like- divided by breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes that are all healthy and tasty.  Be sure to check out her recommendations for healthy pantry staples.

Month-by-Month Gardening in the South by Don and Chris Hastings is another book that has provided lots of useful information.  As you might guess - the book covers each month and is subdivided into shade and flowering trees, shrubs and vines, fruits, roses, flowers, vegetables, houseplants and lawns.  Each categories lists jobs that can be dones during each month-very helpful- I do not also remember when to prune my roses and how to do so for each type- so - very helpful. 

What are you reading???