Jokes On You!

Like most bloggers, I like to see who has been visiting my blog.  I find it incredibly amazing that anyone would even want to take the time to read my blog quite frankly so when I pull up my reader site, it truly kerboozles me the number of people that visit my blog.   

People find each others' blogs through many different ways.  A blog might be recommended to you, you might like a comment someone makes on someone else's blog and go to theirs, or you might Google something and happen upon someone's blog.

In my reader, it lets me know if someone has Googled something and ended up on my blog.  One search in particular caught my eye and when I saw what the person had Googled and saw the photo they got from my blog......... it had me laughing uproariously and saying, "Serves you right!"

Be careful what you Google.  Next time you Google, "Naked girl".  You just may find this photo of my, 'naked girl' on your screen.

Still giggling....... what a hoot!!!  Poor Mildred........ who knew a poor naked neck chicken could draw so much attention.

Family Hike

Nature doesn't need words........ it weaves it's own poetry.

One

There's always one in every group........ it just so happens that it is always the same one in this group.

A Puppy Dog Tale

A few weekends ago we went as a family up to a local ski area and spent the day hiking and playing around.     Right as we were heading out on our first hike, this little blond Lab puppy came bouncing along saying hello to all of our feet.  She is being trained to be an avalanche rescue dog.

Henny Penny knelt down and fell instantly in love asking if she could bring her home.  Good thing she had an owner or I might have agreed with Henny Penny!

Levi soon came over and started to pet the puppy and what you'll see in the next photos never fails to happen.  I don't know what it is with animals but they sense something different in Levi.

Levi starts to pet the puppy.  You see her head start to lift up and turn and look at Levi.

She looks at Levi...........

Hello little puppy dog Levi tells her.  He always goes for their noses.  Levi loves dogs' noses.

And two seconds later the puppy dog crawls into Levi's lap............

Starts to snuggle down...............

Puts her nose in the crook of Levi's arm......................

And goes to sleep.......................  Never fails.

Yard

I need to take better photos when the lighting isn't so bright and washing everything out but you get the idea of how the yard project is coming along.....

Several of the veggie boxes are loaded with peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, potatoes, peas, lettuce, beans, herbs, and lots of weeds.

I swear you can sit and watch weeds grow right before your eyes.  They're alike squash plants!

I tried an experiment this year.  I am forever always trying new things to see if I can mash more into what little space I have.  I planted our onions in between the potato plants.  As you can see, the potatoes are thriving!  I hope the onions are too........

Another washed out photo of what are actually quite beautiful flowers!

These purple flowers over our arbor have exploded this year!  I love seeing the contrast of these dark purple and a little further in the back you can see the same variety, just a lighter purple.  Apparently these are hard to get to explode like this around here.  I've been asked quite often how I get ours to be so full and lush and with so many blooms.  I tell people the secret is in their lack of care.  I planted them and haven't given them any notice since!  You ignore them!!  And then they vie for your attention!  Their like kids.  The more you ignore the louder and more obnoxious they get.

I'm a sucker for flowers..........  I know veggies have their place...... on someone else's plate........  I'd rather plant flowers.

The Project

The question we've been asked the most this spring/summer.  What are you doing with all of those paving stones on the sidewalk by your house?

You can see from the photos that this project started months ago in the spring.  There aren't any leaves on the trees yet.

This is when it comes in nice and handy having so many big boys around the house.  Well, that is if and when you can get them to all be home at the same time.

Watching the paving stones being unloaded was quite exciting can't you tell?  That and I love teasing The Native's that I am taking photos of their cute bums.  The SM's included......

Sorry.  What were we talking about?  

More proof this was months ago.  If I were a good blogger I would have up to date play by play photos of the project but we all know that isn't the case and much like my personality, my blog is spastic.

Last year The SM and my Dad helped me build these square foot garden boxes where they have spent a year sitting empty at the south end of our yard.  We built them such that our gypsy wagon hen house could sit on top of them, thus taking care of fertilizing my gardens for me!

Remember....... I'm lazy........ if I can skip a step or make it more efficient I am all over it!

I really do need to waddle myself out to the gardens and take a photo of them now.  The arbor there in the background is covered in bright red roses, more of the gardens have paving stones around them and are filled with veggies, the blackberries to the right are covered in blossoms which The SM's bees are loving.

This is what The SM and some of The Native's have been hard at work at.  Making my veggie patch look more beautifulishness!  I just made that word up......  You didn't know that wasn't a real word did you?  It's okay.  That's why I'm here.  To point out what is real and what isn't.

Real:  There are several more veggie beds paved in now.  The one here on the right is full of potatoes and onions, the one next to it, has cucumbers, and The Girl's Gypsy Wagon is further down the yard on the last veggie garden getting fabulously fertilized and not much else because my poor Girl's are going under a really bad hair/feather treatment/process right now called molting.  It's hideous really. They look like a cat got a hold of them, some worse than others.   I know!  I should take photos and blog about it!!!

Rainbow Twirly Ribbons

There is a blog that I follow called, Twig and Toadstool.  It's a wonderful blog filled with fun ideas and projects for you to do with your kids.

Summer is in full swing here.  The Native's have been home from school for a few weeks now which is perfect opportunity to do a project like this one.  The making of twirly rainbow ribbon wands.

The tutorial for these wands is located here on the Twig and Toadstool site.  Because they do such a good job teaching you how to make these, i'll let you go to their site for the instructions.

It made for a fun morning for the three youngest Natives as they colored both sides of the ribbon.

What drew me to this particular project is Levi.  Levi loves flags, anything that resembles a flag, anything that as he rides his bike will go flapping in the air behind him.  This was perfect.  It's colorful, it's attached to a stick, and  it twirls and flaps behind you when you ride fast on your bike.  Perfect!

Why yes, my daughter is still in her jammies.  Her mother was still in her jammies.  Why should my daughter be any different?  And no making comments that you can tell by the shadows it's close to noon!  It's summer vacation!

We did make one small change in the directions.  The tutorial suggests that you take a medicine dropper which you see Henny Penny using here in this photo.  She is taking rubbing alcohol and as you drop it on the spaces in between the colors, they start to run together.

I'm lazy.  I got a little glass bowl, poured the rubbing alcohol into it, and then ran the ribbon through the bowl really fast getting the whole ribbon wet.  We then let the ribbons dry on the grass.

You do get your hands all stained with the colors if you do it my way so if you do, wear rubber gloves if you don't like dyed fingers.

 I made the mistake of telling Levi we were dipping the ribbons in alcohol.  He's been learning at school that you don't do drugs or drink alcohol.

Levi:  ALCOHOL!!  Did you say ALCOHOL!

I ignored him.  How in the world do I explain  to him that rubbing alcohol is okay but the kind he's been taught about isn't ?  I couldn't think of how to separate the two for him in his sweet mind so I chose to ignore him and change the subject.  I know.  My parenting skills are astounding.

For those who may be reading my blog for the first time, our Levi has special needs and is mentally pure and innocent.

Twirly wands!  I was chased around the yard at one point and told I was going to be changed into a turtle.

Levi's favorite activity.  Standing by the air conditioning unit watching objects fly up into the air.

Daily Levi funny:

Levi:  What is this?
Mr. J:  A donut!
Levi: Who's gonna have that last donut?
Mr. J:  I dunno.
Levi:  I haven't had one since I was 90 years old!

Summer

 

Summer + Water = Fun

Neighbors. I Love Mine!

What happens when your neighbor who lives across the street, has gotten a bunch of salmon from Alaska, is feeling domestic and explores with different ways of cooking salmon, knocks on your door, and slips this scrumptious salmon patty with dill sauce to you?

You decide then and there that you are never going to move and you make sure your neighbor is never allowed to move.   If my neighbor ever does move........  I'm crawling in her luggage.