Some Rain....

  Of the four days that rain was predicted for our area...we never had any. Then it rained Wednesday.

 Stormed in the night. You can see the grass is greening again . Here's more of the tulip poplar leaves on the ground .Just a hint of autumn.

 It did clear up here and there, but by evening it was raining again.

 Karen , my daughter,was putting up corn after she worked her job, yesterday. She also delivered corn to her twin sister (Liz)  and to Susan, that used be her children's day care giver before they went to school.

 For being kind , she was blessed in return. Susan  , made her some strawberry jam.  Karen was certainly happy about that.  Susan really is like an extra grandmother to Karen's children. She remembers them on holidays and their birthdays. Such a sweet lady.

  Then Karen sends me this picture of herself, frying chicken...just like my mother used to do it...hot and fast.  My siblings and I would tease mom about setting off the smoke alarm from her chicken frying. LOL. It's a wonder she didn't burn the house down. :):)

   I just had to show our sweet Layla preparing for a tea party. She is wearing her Gigi's night gown.  She asked Lizzy if she could please wear it. Liz told her it was a night gown, but Layla said it looked like a beautiful dress...so Liz let her wear it for her tea party.  I love how children think. :):)
  Hope all of you have a great weekend. Please be safe.  XO

Friends, Family & Flowers....

  Today was classmate brunch day. We met the second Monday of the month.  Patty and I were first there.

 Nine women and one man. LOL. I think Jim loves being with all of us women.

  Yesterday, I ran into a man that once was my little neighbor boy.  Darrin is a sweetheart. Married with two girls of his own.  He said my daughters were his sisters that his parents never had. LOL

 My granddaughter lYnzie and her husband Mark brought their boys over yesterday morning.

  I had a blanket down for the boys to play on and they kept tripping...so we folded that up and just played on the bare floors.  Thank goodness Lynzie brought some of the boys' toys with her.

 Max was being a monkey....so full of energy. Oh how I wish I had a smidgen of it.

  Luke walked with me but just did not want to let go of my hand....not that I minded that at all. Got to walk him and hold him. Lots of laughs, hugs and kisses.  They were all on their way to the Tipton Park for a  reunion of  Lynzie's  other grandmother's family. We were thankful they stopped by to spend time with us. So sweet.

  My gardening daughter Karen, sent me photos of all her different sunflowers.  I told her to save me some seeds from them. Pale yellow with green inside.

 Pale yellow and brown seeds.

 Bright summer yellow , which is how I always thought sunflowers grew.

 She also had some red ones...so unusual. I have seen her grow small red ones before but never any tall ones like this.

Such a pretty color. I would love to grow some of these next year. :):)
   I had a wonderful weekend. Seeing family and the neighbor kid from long ago.  Today started out great too. Well for me. Once I got home from the brunch, I found Ted in the shop. He had been splitting wood and broke the back stop almost entirely off the splitter. So he is cleaning it all up....he will be taking it to his brother's wielding shop to get it fixed. I am so glad that Ted and his brother Mic can work well together and help one another. Always nice to be able to count on family.
  Wishing all of you a sweet week. XO

This Week's Happenings....

  We had some rains, which we still need a bit more and it's predicted the next four days . Scattered showers.  It would rain like a monsoon for a 10-15 minute span , then stop.

 Even clear up in spots while raining in others.  Sun in the front yard and rain in the back. LOL

  With rain and some hot sunny days. Things are changing. See the tulip poplar leaves already starting to fall. It could be from the draught conditions we have had through summer.

 My gardening daughter Karen, has picked pumpkins even. She is giving them to her friends at work.

 She has even picked a bunch of tomatoes and cut them up for freezing.  So good in a big pot of chili, come winter. She has stocked  her freezer with many things from the garden, plus handed out to friends and family.

  Yesterday I had my sister Pam come to lunch.  I laugh about her glasses at the end of her nose.  First she squints and tries to read, then she gets her readers out and then she slides them down her nose. LOL  We had a fun time and watched our all time favorite  soap opera...The Young and Restless.

  Monday was Emma's first day of school this year. My little crafting buddy has grown up somewhat.  Papaw said , "Too bad she could not get some new jeans for school. " hahaha....those are her new jeans. Probably cost extra for all those slash marks.

 I just had to post this and I hope everyone can read it. I mean I thought it was clever and funny. Amish Uber.  I guess there's a calling for anything under the sun.
  Wishing everyone a good weekend.  Relax and enjoy these summer days. XO

Work, A Surprise, & Shopping....

  Grandson Jake bought a house last year. An old remodeled house.  Who ever did the porch post, made a mess.  Jake said the big tiles feel off the bottoms in the heat of this summer. LOL

  I know he had this house inspected before buying it. There are inspectors out there that haven't a clue. Sorry, it's true.  The inside had the best materials and some fine work , but the outside seemed an after thought.

  Ted and I went over on Friday . Tore the bottom surrounds off the posts.

 

 We fashioned our own idea of how the bottom parts should look.  Oh my gosh this was a major job for us oldsters.  So much walking , standing, measuring, cutting. What ever happened to square and plumb ?  We always use screws to put things together. They grab better, they can be backed out easily if need be.   We were at Jake's at 9 , on Friday morning.  Left for lunch at 11, and back again at 12. ...worked till 5.  I forgot to get pictures once we were done. So we went back Saturday evening for this last picture. I see the fellows (Jake and his pals) have been sitting out on the porch having beers and not painted the posts. Hmm? Gonna have a talk with that boy.

  Saturday my daughter Karen and granddaughter Savannah came to Tipton . They went to the library for a book signing. This book was written by a young lady that used to be my neighbor girl. The photo of the girl on the book was a girl from our town that was murdered in 1965. The murder was never solved.

  The surprise, Karen bought a book for me too and had it signed by the author. When the book signing was over, Savannah and Karen came out for a very late lunch.  We had a good visit.  Then Savannah drives them home.  That is why Savannah is with Karen so much, getting her hours in for her licenses. Gee, it's hard for me to believe my granddaughter is driving.
  That was two days of our weekend. On Sunday, we just stayed in and relaxed.

  Then came Monday morning. Ted and I went to Kohl's with our 30 % off coupon. That's the time to shop .  I found these taupe colored  shoes by Sketchers. You know they have that memory foam insole.  So comfortable.  They were 59.99 marked down to 54.99 and with 30 percent off well I gladly paid 38.48 for them. :):)

 Then we used some of our gift cards from the children and had lunch at Steak and Shake.  So it was a good start to the week.  Ted got some golf in this Tuesday morning even though it rained last night and the ground is wet. LOL  Shot an eighty -four. , not bad for wet ground .
   Wishing all of you a good day today.  XO
 

Saturday.....

   There were over a dozen butterflies on this flower , yesterday when we can home for our lunch. This is a flower I bought at Horton's, I do not remember what it is. I am so glad the butterflies love it.

  This is a hibiscus, I think. It was across he street for my grandson's house.  It was a huge plant and very pretty. I heard lots of song birds and saw many butterflies while Ted and I worked on Jake's porch. I will post about that later.

  We went to Big Lots one day last week. I wish I had bought these lanterns...they were decorated for autumn, but I think you could change that out many times . Great decorating items.  I may go back this coming week and check out the price .

 So many cute things. Isn't this a sweet pillow? :):)

 I love the colors on this sign. There were typical autumn colors of  rust , yellow and orange...then there were these pale greens and cream colors.

  This is a pumpkin topiary, in a white urn. This would be so cute on a porch. Or even inside.

 Many cute hand towels. Love those pumpkin pillows.

 Candles, ceramics, wreathes.....don't you love it.

 Here was a nice country type sign, which I liked.

A tractor pumpkin too. I guess we may as well look at fall décor as it is coming around the bend.   Today does not make me think fall outside. It is extremely hot today. Our state fair is open and running for a couple weeks. Hope everyone drinks plenty of water.
  Speaking of hot... I would like to ask all of you to please pray for those in the fires out west. Send good wishes, thoughts or prayers... let's not forget everyone there and the brave fire fighters. Thank you. so much.  XO

Starting August....

  Just this past week I read on blogs about the fogs of August predicting our winter snows. I hope that is an old wife's tale. Because today is the 2nd and this is our second fog. LOL.

 Normally I can see the traffic on the road just south of here....not today.

 It is starting to burn off, slowly.

 Just eerie floating along through the trees.

  My daughter Angie, flew to Florida for her last week of break from teaching. We were going to have another day of fun before school started. I will have to wait for a weekend . Since she doesn't get to see her sweet daughter as often as she would like.  Airfares have been cheap enough that she can do this a  few times a year.

  She wanted to spend some time with her daughter(my granddaughter) Sierra. Those girls have so much fun together.  Sierra sent me a snap of a crowd of people gathering  on the beach, saying, Shark, Shark. (yikes)   I told Sierra it was a good thing her father wasn't there to see it....for he would be flying right back home. LOL

  Teddy Bear made me this new ink pen.  He went to his son Health's house one weekend and made the blanks.  The blanks are a combination of burl woods and resin. Resin can be in any color. Ted brought the blanks home to turn on his own lathe.

 I love the rosy pink color he chose for my pen. He made one for himself from a brown color. Ted could not remember the name of the burl wood.  I love my new pen and will carry it in a special pocket in my handbag.
   Hope all of you are starting your August safely and happily. XO