Trying to decide if yesterday went well...

The closet area in the laundry room has been revamped. The boxes in it have *all* been gone through. I have a car trunk full of give-away, headed out this afternoon to a thrift shop and the library.
(I forgot this was Ben's 4am-1:00pm day when we loaded the trunk.)

Our library has a book store, where you can donate books. I have three big boxes for them. (I was thinking of ebaying some, but I checked ebay. The ones I would of tried to sell had dozens to hundreds of copies for sale, and NO BIDS on any of them. I checked Amazon for the same books- and they had at least 88 copies of one of the books, with a starting sales price of .44 cents. I just don't have the energy to waste listing something, packing it, and mailing it, for .44 cents. I'd rather donate.

The rest of the laundry room still looks trashed. The front room, my command center, is still trashed. While I say I went through *all* of the boxes... I am still going through some of them in depth. I found four more BIG boxes of pictures- framed and unframed. I have been working on the first box for hours.

Mr C couldn't believe I was throwing away pictures. Many were pictures of scenery... no explanation of where it was or when it was, or why it was taken. No people in them. Toss. Some badly faded, fuzzy pictures of people. Toss. People I couldn't identify at all... I know they may have been kids of people we went to church with 25 years ago... but not who. Toss. A million of Chris and Jennifer's wedding- with Jennifer's family- with just the decor at the reception... Toss.

I made a pile of pictures to send to others... like Jennifer's wedding cake Mom made- she can put it in her cake picture collection. It was a spectacular cake- even if Bridezilla pitched a fit because it had "white ribbons and(she) thought (she) made it plain she wanted COLORED ribbons on it!" I have a pile Chris and Bill can decide ownership of... high school friends of theirs, a party they went to with Mrs Stuckey. A stack for Uncle Buck, with pictures of Luke and Eric and Lorena. I figure the boys may like pictures of their mom.

I have barely made a dent in the first box. So many of these will need to be scanned and saved to disk... or added to yet another photobook.

I liberated a five foot high stack of books we should be using this school year. Kicked myself for all of the stuff I missed using for the twins in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. I really need my own library room again! I put the boxes of books that I wanted to have handy up closer to the front of the closet this time. (Becky was right- I do still have the encyclopedias and the Childcraft books I thought I had given to her.)

I used the two huge plastic bins that Mom sent my china up in to house sewing stuff in one box, and craft supplies in another. Both are also accessible now. Daniel burned about a dozen boxes I emptied. (Or that were piled in the laundry room empty.)

Whew.
I had planned on beans for supper, and had gotten some Great Northern beans on to speed soak. Then I forgot about them. Four thirty is a bad time to remember beans you planned to serve at five forty-five. I had Sam dig out the pressure cooker. Dan helped me get the cornbread ready. We finished just as Mr C got home.

This morning, I still have the laundry room to finish cleaning. My room and bathroom never made it far enough to be called "clean" this week. The living room and the kitchen are still "hung over" from yesterday. Pretty much, the whole house is trashed. I have fallen victim to our family's traditional cleaning madness... You empty the room you want cleaned, then sit down with a cup of tea while you painstakingly do minute tasks that aren't going to be seen by anyone. (Like sorting through the pictures instead of finding homes for the books I pulled out of boxes.)

I still have my big "catch-all" desk to unpile in the laundry room. I got Tom's dresser done yesterday. I moved the big mechanic's toolbox from next to the washing machine, to in front of the neatly re-stacked closet. Much easier for Tom to access his dresser now. Gives the room the illusion of a lot more space.

OK. Quit gabbing about what I need to do, and actually get started doing it. Have a blessed day!

Already Time

To pay rent for AUGUST! (Hey, I got it out on time this month!)

If you want to see it, here is a link to the 25th anniversary book.

I plan to stay home today... and work on the house. I never got anything done yesterday afternoon. It seems like I just get more done in the mornings than in the afternoons. The don'twannaain'tgonnas get hold of me about four in the afternoon, and I am DONE for the day.

I was just thinking of tearing apart the laundry room storage area. Long ago, in Marlow, I took apart our "library"/ junk storage room for a deep cleaning. I had debris three feet deep in the living room. Tom came in from a Men's Prayer Breakfast at church and told me he had invited a young couple from the church to have supper with us that evening. Yikes! Good thing I can multi-task!

****************
Daniel just came in to point out that the box from his Chess Set has at least TWO "Engrish" fails. I sure wish my camera was working, I'd post a picture of it!
It says: "A nice decoration and an exiting Pastime. Existing out of 32 chess-men and a chess board"
It is great that Dan saw the mistakes- I don't know how many people would miss "exiting" over exciting, or realize that the game consists of , not "existing out of".
************

Have a great day! I'm off here to get started on my grand stay-at-home plans.

*

debugged

We set off the bug bombs this morning- the three week followup required for ridding the place of fleas. I was going to skip it, not having seen any fleas lately. Not until yesterday, anyway. I found a flea-like insect as I was making up my bed.

We were going to go see a movie. Not checking ahead, we got to the theater complex and found it didn't open until 11:30- an hour and a half away. And it was $8.95 a person to get in... though we weren't terribly keen on any of the movies being offered. Ben had already made plans to meet a friend at a bookstore- which was coincidentally at the same mall as the theater.

While Ben awaited his friend, Dan and Sam and I explored the bookstore. We spent $55 on books- not bad for the haul we came away with. Ben's friend arrived and we abandoned them entering the bookstore as we left.
It was time we could have gone to the theater, but we decided against it. We found an Arby's and got lunch. Did you know they have a limit of the number of 5 for$5 specials you can get? (The special 5-for$5 is only weekends anyway.) We were pretty sure that they seldom sell anyone the limit... 250 sandwiches! And you have to call ahead if you want 50 or more!

We still had just over two hours left to kill. Taking the longest route, we went from Bentonville over through Gravette, and towards Gentry, stopping at AD Distributing. Daniel found what he has been looking for : Chess Sets. He had discovered that the Bentonville Library didn't have any chess sets to help people pass time while they waited for other people. (Heaven forbid one should pass waiting time READING at the library, while Mom works on a project online). Dan asked if the Library would accept a donation of some chess sets. They said yes... and he poured all of his earnings from the last few jobs he worked for the neighbors, into a Chess fund. He bought 2 sets, pretty glass sets, to give.

AD Distributing didn't have nearly as much stuff as it once did, so we weren't there too long. With still 45 minutes before we could air the house, we stopped at Dollar General. I found a collage photo frame, and we got some soap to make laundry detergent. The boys got candy... and we headed on home.

It was almost 90*, so I only let the house air for half an hour before turning on the air. The spray residue is cleaned up, laundry is churning. Daniel is re-re-re admiring the chess sets. Ben is still off with his friend... not sure if we are picking him up or if he will be given a ride home. I need to go clean up my bathroom, and vacuum the house. I guess I ought to get on with that!

Have a great day!

~Tammy~

This Week with the Cow Crew

It seemed to me I was a lot busier than I really was since I last blogged. I worked the weekend at O's.... which was decidedly NOT busy. Came home by 1:00 Sunday, in fact. Mr C took me on a driveby of a local house. Probably 4 miles as the crow flies... but farther when avoiding the tire shredding gravel roads. I don't think he is interested enough to actually go see it in person.

This week: I have groceries to obtain. The 3 week repeat of bug bombing. I have to finish the anniversary gift for me Tom and get it submitted for printing. (Probably best to do this at the library!) Make the "back to school" lesson plans. Organize the packed boxes in the laundry room and see what school books I have packed away in there... we had only packed away the ones I wouldn't be needing for a 'few years'... and now we have been here almost four years. Oh yeah, and Tyrel's birthday present to get mailed. Bad Granny, missed getting it sent off in time.

I let my expensive peaches go bad... they were discovered by the sugar ants. (Yeah, we are still dealing with them!) I am hoping the bug bombing will kill off all the ones currently in here, and maybe the Terro (tm) ant baits will stop their sisters and cousins from returning to my cupboards and countertops.

I am thinking that tomorrow's excursion (we have to be gone 4 hours for the bug bombing) may involve taking the boys to see a movie or something. (They may prefer our newest hobby of strolling through antique stores.)

I'm pretty sure I get Matthew back this coming Sunday. So I really ought to concentrate on getting rid of my hidden pockets of clutter... the drawers and files and shelves and piles of stuff we don't use anymore. (Add a trip to Goodwill onto the list.)

So... my morning cup of tea is finished, I have read through the blogs I visit, and posted my own. Guess I ought to get started on that list!

Have a blessed day!

Thursday

Chris and Ben arrived yesterday afternoon. Chris and I visited awhile, and after supper he was able to contact Jennifer and we got to go see the kids. Connor and Alana wanted to come home with us, and Jennifer let them. It was after 9:00 pm when we got here, so it was a very brief visit.

Chris and Jennifer had an appointment together this morning, and I dropped Chris off. I took Connor and Alana to the park. they behaved very well, playing nicely together. My only issue was Connor's language. Ahem. I had to remind him repeatedly that he was NOT to use the words he was using.

It was really good to see them- it has been an entire year since I have seen Connor and Alana.
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My anniversary project isn't finished yet... I was really hoping to be done with it today. Stupid slow internet! I have about 10 days before the 25th anniversary.

Yesterday

It was rainy and storming for most of the morning. I got online once the storms had passed... and was only on for 10 minutes or so, when the internet cut off and would not reconnect.

I tried rebooting the computer... nope, no internet.

So I checked the phone line... dead. No static, no open line silence, no dial tone. Just nothing. I waited a few minutes and checked again. Still a dead line. I gave it half an hour, then called the repair service. He had me test the line coming into the house... it was also dead. He promised to send a repairman. The boys and I got busy and made another 10 half-pints of cherry jam.

After Tom left back to work from lunch, Dan, Sam, and I went out to the local peach orchard. They didn't have any "pick your own" today... but sold us a small pre-picked bucket for $12. Yikes. I didn't dig through them until I got home. They ought to be ashamed. They are crunchy-hard, and quite blemished. None ripe enough to eat. We stopped in at the local grocery store, and I redeemed my rain-check for cherries.

Once the groceries were put away, we made another batch of fresh salsa. We had made a batch yesterday, using up a bunch of my tomatoes from my garden. We tried it with a couple of tomatillos- which I have never used before. It turned out so well, we had to buy tomatoes and make another batch. (Not enough to can, but a huge bowl of fresh!)

The phone line was restored while we were gone... but the internet still was not working. All of the phone jacks except the main one entering the house, were still dead. Unless I moved a computer set-up, I couldn't get online.

Dan and I made a batch of enchiladas for supper. They were great! (And we have plenty left for lunch today!) After supper, Mr C went out and looked at the outdoor phone box. He found a broken wire, and reconnected it. That fixed the jacks that had been dead.

I checked my emails... and found that the lady who had sold me the two pairs of wranglers had refunded half my $$... she had double-listed the jeans. GRRR.

This morning, I will be going to get Ben- and Chris- from the airport. Chris has an appointment tomorrow in Bentonville. I have a small stack of mail to stop off at the post office- my shutterfly prints came in and I got them divvied up. Since we bought MORE cherries yesterday, I also have them to deal with. The end of July is sure sneaking up on us!

Have a blessed day!

Why am I so sleepy?

Hmmm- let me recount:

Last night I waited up for Ben to get home, to tell him Mr C had booked him on a flight to visit Chris, leaving at 5:40 this morning. He had to be ready to walk out the door by 4:30am. (We are less than 10 miles from the airport, and it is all country- no city traffic.)
While waiting for Ben to get home, I got interested in a movie. Not smart enough to just turn it off and go on to bed once the message was delivered, I was up until 1:15 am.

I woke at 3:20 and couldn't get back to sleep. So instead of Mr C taking Ben to the airport, I said I'd take him, allowing Mr C a bit more time to sleep. (He had work today and didn't sleep well last night.)
Mr C suggested we go ahead and print Ben's boarding pass... then got up to do it himself. When the pass printed... it wasn't a boarding pass. It was a "space available" pass allowing Ben through security to see if he could get on the flight. Since the flight was wide open when Mr C booked it yesterday afternoon... he decided to check the status this morning.

Yikes! Ben was #40 on the waiting list for this flight!

I took him to the airport anyway, and stayed up once I got home, in case I had to run back over and get him. He called me about five after six... he had been put on the waiting list for the 6:50 flight and wanted to stay to see if he made that one. (He was #14 on the standby list by then.) So I had to wait up and see if I needed to go get him from that flight. (He did make that flight, but I didn't know it until 7:00 am).

By then, I was pretty well awake, and surfed the internet until the twins got up. Our plan was to go to the library. The twins slept until after 9:00 am! They almost never do that! They were anxious to go to the library... but I was decidedly woozy by then. I HAD to lay down. I slept from about 9:45 until NOON.

Yep. NOON.
(Combined with the two and a quarter hours of sleep I got last night, I am now up to five hours sleep of the last 38 hours.)

Once I got up, we made lunch, then headed to town. I worked on my latest project at online at the library, and made good progress on that. It was nearly four by the time we got home... and I had to re-think supper plans. It was threatening to pour rain- and we had planned to cook out.

I sauteed chicken in a skillet instead. Got good reviews from the boys, but Mr C wasn't thrilled with it. (Seasoned with lemon pepper... and during the last 15 minutes I added a splash of OJ and a trickle of honey, and some red pepper flakes... then left the lid off for it to thicken down. *I* liked it!) We also had wild rice pilaf and salad.
*********

I just ordered a couple of pair of baby wrangler jeans off ebay... and forgot to change the address to Becky instead of here. So those will be too late for Ty'ger's birthday. Oh well. Things happen when you are wiped out tired. And it isn't like Ty will CARE about clothes or birthdays at this point.

Yawn. It is 9:00 pm, and I am thinking bedtime!

No Sale!

Tuesday, the boys and I went to the local grocery store in Gentry. We needed (okay- WANTED) some vanilla ice cream to go with the blackberry cobbler we were making for my Mom. Hooray... the store had it on sale!

Blue Bunny: 2 for $8.00!

Regularly priced... $ 3.98 each.

Hmmm... not much of a sale. I pointed this out to the cashier. She said I was the third person this week to comment on the sale. She tried (in vain) to do the math. One of the twins told her... it would be four cents cheaper to buy two NOT on sale.

The clerk still seemed puzzled. We didn't buy the ice cream.

I can hardly wait....

for several things:
1) My mom is on her way up to visit. Unfortunately, her DH only comes for a chunk of fire. I'm sure he will be ready to head back home before breakfast has a chance to congeal on the plates tomorrow.

2) A cold front is supposed to be coming through. While we are in the storm zone... all of the rains have missed us so far. But being 25* cooler will be very welcome...

3) Positive Changes.
Things have been going on in the lives of my older children. DS#1 has a better job, which he starts in just a couple of weeks. DS#2 just moved to a new apartment with his wife and baby... and got a raise in his income. DD is expecting baby #2 in October. DS#3 is hoping to go visit DS#1 soon- #3 hasn't been much of anywhere (except a quick trip to Becky's) in nearly a year. DS#4 likes his job- a trade he began to learn in May.
DH is back to looking for a house for us. Oh, and our 25th anniversary is 3 weeks from yesterday.
4) A new Kitty.
We all miss Al so much. Mr C is not ready for a new kitty. He says NO! and I am under direct orders NOT to bring home another kitty. But some day we will get a new one.

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I feel as if we have actually accomplished something this summer- even if it is just that we have canned jellies and jam. I very much enjoyed our Ohio vacation, and quick little trips to get Becky.
Seems like the summer is about over- but we are really not quite to its middle yet.
***************

It is "funny" how much a part of our lives Al was. I have found myself several times putting things in 'better' locations, so Al won't knock them over. Or looking for fresh catnip plants. Reaching cautiously onto high shelves. Al always had a knack for being where you least expected her. Nothing like teetering on a box in the closet to reach the top shelf, only to come face to face with a warm, furry "Meow".

***********
We got our baking done this morning. A fresh blackberry cobbler, plus two loaves of banana bread. (The banana's had to be used. We added cherries just to see how it would come out. YUM!) Now the house is trying to cool down. I hate baking during the heat of the summer. We cook out most nights, just to keep down the heat in the kitchen. (The kitchen/ dining/ and living room areas are one large room. So cooking heats up the whole living space).

I got a couple of eggplant to fix for supper. Mom loves eggplant, and Daniel really wanted to try it again. I am thinking I will lightly 'bread' it with egg, and rice flour. Then saute it. I will make a tomato based sauce with basil, garlic, onion, and maybe a dash of italian seasoning. That's the plan, anyway. (Also doing grilled steak, and mashed potatoes.)

"Tueday"

(Isn't that a clever take on Tuesday/Today?)

The boys and I did some straightening around the house, then went and visited some antique shops/ junk stores around Gentry. It was fun. I found a cool old necklace I got Gma Kathie for her birthday. I hope she likes it.

Other than the Rock Shop, where I found the necklace, we didn't buy anything. The rock shop was a very educational place. (Proper name was "Cool Stuff", not the Rock Shop.)

We got a box of 'riblets' to grill for supper tonight. And some steaks to fix when Mom and Ralph are here. That's about as far ahead as I have done any thinking. (Mom is supposed to be coming up tomorrow with the hutch.)

I got some prints ordered of some of the vacation pictures, but Becky hasn't got all of hers uploaded yet. I didn't find some of my favorites, mostly of Dad and UB. Guess I will have to order those later. *taps foot impatiently*

Mr C cut a nasty jag in the side of his foot last night. He was walking barefoot out near the road. He 'discovered' a rusty, old, lawn mower shredded Copenhagen tin. It had to be pulled out of his foot. It needed about four stitches, if you had asked me. However, he stoically made do with a peroxide wash, ointment, and a bandaid. A very nasty cut. And I bet his tetanus is out of date. (If you want to see his meanest look, just try suggesting he needs to go see a Doctor.) He woke me up this morning to re-dress the cut. It seems to be sealing shut. I hope all the peroxide and Colloidal Silver I washed it out with got every germ.

That's about all I can think of to blog on "tueday". Have a blessed afternoon!

Another slow weekend

I was home shortly after noon Sunday. My co-workers said it had been crazy busy all week. But both Saturday and Sunday, we were so very slow that we actually got done with everything that had to be done. Including mopping floors and killing giant dust bunnies that hide on top shelves in the back rooms.

I slept in this morning, then ran my local errands. I had a box of stuff I had to mail to Tommy- and I can't send a plain old box of just what is NEEDED. I had to include something for Becky and for Ty. I decided on a stop at the Little Debbie store. So we left the box open, and Dan and I set out for Gentry. We got the Little Debbies, and put several into the box, and sealed it up. Then we stopped at the bank for me to deposit my check. From there, it is a little bit farther up the road to the Post Office. (I can just see the Post Office X-Raying the box... it is full of hoses and automotive belts... and Little Debbies. In X-ray, I'm sure it would look suspiciously explosive.)

From the post office to the grocery store... where we got more white grape juice and sugar free pectin. (I am making more Cherry Jam).

For this batch, I am going to use the full strength white grape juice concentrate. The store had a sale on the Washington Cherries... but no stock. So I got a rain check on them. For the next batch, I may try adding a small amount of sugar- depending on how well we like this batch with the concentrated juice.

I suppose I had better quit playing here online and get busy on the housework and canning before I run out of steam. I always get so much more done in the mornings... I run out of Gitty-up in the afternoons.

Have a blessed day!

Summer Busy

Yesterday we went to the library. Upon arriving- I discovered I had left my purse at home. Yikes! Dan lent me his library card to check out my books. We drove carefully back home. Ben worked the 4am-1:00pm shift, so once he got home, I headed off to WalMart- again! (Yeah, like 3 times a week!) And I STILL forgot the white grape juice, even though it was on my list. (I sent Ben to the local grocery store in Gentry for a bottle.)

White grape juice is the 'sugar substitute' for the unsweetened cherry jam I made last night. It was quite ... tangy. I will try another batch tonight soon, since I have the cherries on hand. But I will add a wee bit of sugar to the second batch. The recipe only makes 5 half-pints. I don't get off until 7 tonight, and I know I won't be wanting to mess with canning anything then. Perhaps I can get the cherries ready, though, at some point over the weekend. First, the cherries are washed, Then the stems removed. Then, lacking a cherry pitter, I use a knife to cut a line around the pit. Once I have all the cherries cut, I twist them apart and remove the pit. It actually went pretty quickly once I had a rhythm going.

Mom and Ralph may come up sometime this week. (Bribed her with blackberry jelly and "cop". (I can't think of which of the kids just couldn't say "cobbler"... they called it a "cop". One of our family names that stuck.)

We finished processing the blueberries this morning. All are now frozen and ready to be gobbled down. (I would say "this winter" but I have no illusions of them lasting that long!) I am thinking I better do the same (freezing) the blackberries for the "cop", lest they ferment in the fridge and make a sour wine, LOL.

Time for me to be getting set and ready for work. Have a great day!

A berry fine day

The boys and I have been processing berries all day. The blueberries need picked over, spread on cookie sheets, and frozen. Then they are put into freezer bags and put into the deep freeze until ready to use. So far, we have only made it through the first gallon.

The blackberries were washed, cooked down to pulp, strained. Then the juice was mixed with sugar and pectin and boiled... then sealed into jars. So far, it looks like this batch of jelly is going to be very thin. If it is too thin once it cools, I will remelt it and add another packet of pectin. We got fourteen half pints today, to add to the 22 we had already done. I hear the little "pinks" of the jars sealing as they cool.

So far, the cherries are just evaporating. Which is OK.

I put chicken in the slow cooker and poured a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette dressing over it. If it doesn't start cooking faster, I may have to finish it up out on the grill.

I organized my canned goods cabinet this afternoon. I have plenty of green beans, tomato sauce, and mixed veggies. I don't have many crushed or stewed tomatoes, which I use far more of than tomato sauce.

The organization is overdue... did I mention I made spaghetti for supper the other night? I had the sauce done and the water boiling for the noodles when I discovered I didn't have any spaghetti noodles. I had to serve the sauce with Penne pasta. Tom and the boys were not all together impressed with the improvisation. I am intending to serve rice with the chicken tonight. And probably, green beans. LOL.

Unfruitful

Where have I been all day?

Well, as decided yesterday, we set off bug bombs this morning. I have only had one flea on me- but that was one too many. The boys and I turned the dogs out, covered the fish tank, and headed out the door. We went south on Arkansas 59. Not being in a hurry, we saw the entrance to "Lake Francis", which is on the OK/AR border. We haven't ever actually FOUND Lake Francis in all the times we have tried to reach it from the OK side. We decided that we would go see Lake Francis.

Today was yet another day we didn't find the lake. Every road ended at a "Private Property, No Trespassing" sign. We gave up and headed on down to Lincoln. We stopped at the orchard store, where it was advertised they were picking peaches. Inside the store were three small sacks of pitiful looking peaches- for $7.00 a bag! So sorry... we can get them at Walmart for less than half that price. They also had a couple of sacks of scrawny, bruised apples, also $7.00 a bag. I went ahead and got a couple of quarts of local honey there, and tried a jar of sugar free cherry preserves, sweetened with fruit juice.

Since we still had a good 3 hours to kill at that point, we explored several local swap shops and antique stores. It is pretty cool that my 13 & 20 year old sons love exploring the old shops as much as I do. Ben found a crucible for his metal casting endeavors, and Dan found just the thing to melt candle wax in, to be able to hand dip candles. I found a hat that just screamed my son Christopher's name... but at $20, I passed it by. (A real jungle hardhat!) I found myself a deeper cast iron double fry pan/ dutch oven. I called Tom before buying it... and he asked "Don't we have ENOUGH cast iron?". (Becky and Ben both replied "You can NEVER have enough cast iron!") It was a real deal- less than half the price I had seen, even on sale. But I passed it by.

We got started for home, knowing we had to stop at WM for several things. However, we saw a banner that said "Blueberries and Fresh Produce!" and turned in that gate. I soon wondered if the sign had small print directing us some place other than the driveway we were on. It wended back farther and farther from the highway. We didn't see anyone. The road got a bit rough, but there wasn't exactly anyplace to turn around. We passed two unoccupied guard towers. All at once, the overgrown road opened up and there was a field of blueberry bushes, with apparently migrant workers toiling away. A man driving a little miniature Subaru truck drove up. He said we had missed blueberry season, for the most part, but they did still have a few gallons available. He led us still farther down the road. Ben and the twins remarked that if Stephen were with us, he would be checking his sidearm by now.

We got out of the car, and went into the blueberry shed. The little man talked on and on about their berry operation. He enumerated their tomato, cucumber, squash and melon plants... but said they were a couple of weeks away from harvest. All they had today was the few berries. We bought two gallons and started back up the road- it was a MILE to the highway! On the way out, we decided from the positioning of the guard towers, they were probably deer blinds.

After a quick run through at WalMart, we finally got home. The house was smelly and hot. I let it air a bare half hour before closing it up and turning on the air. I need to think of something quick and cool for supper and get it started.

We have yesterday's blackberries to deal with tonight or tomorrow, as well as the blueberries we bought today. I got about 4 lbs. of cherries at WalMart. (We can't get those fruit stand fresh here!) The load of laundry I started as soon as we could stand being inside this afternoon has finished washing, so I need to get that taken care of as well!

Have a great rest of your day!

~Tammy~

what happened to blooming where I'm planted?

I really don't know. Mr C didn't like any of the places we looked at enough to put an offer in on one. He is back to searching the internet for different ones, and scouring the homes for sale magazines.
*********
My work weekend was OK, but SLOW. The store probably shouldn't have even been open. One of my co-workers and I put in some hours on straightening and organizing the back room, where the overstock sits. Oil is organized by brand now, as is all the rest of the overstock. My cash drawer deposit was $14.10 Saturday. Not big bucks, for sure.
************
Tom and the boys got a few fireworks and set them off Friday and Saturday night. We could see fireworks over east- whether Centerton or Bentonville, I don't know. I missed the rest of the kids. Ben was working, and for the last several years the 4th of July holiday has been the day all my kids have gathered. (Two years for river floats, others just to visit.)
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Today, I have the house to clean and I need to set off flea bombs. Despite baths with flea shampoo, almost daily dousing of flea spray, and the "Frontline" drops down their backs, these dogs insist on having fleas. A baby flea jumped on me in the chair yesterday. Dan and I want to go blackberry picking... take advantage of God's bounty! And I would like to go down to Lincoln and see what fruits the orchards have ripe right now.
Since Ben has to work at 1:00 today, I can't really do the bombs this morning. Not fair to roust him from his bed so early when he works until late... and if I wait until he is up, he won't be able to get ready for work on time due to the fog of the bombs. So I will probably do blackberries and housework today, and then set off bombs tomorrow and go to Lincoln while they work. (It will be Ben's day off.)
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The weather has turned off (relatively) cool and overcast. We had quite a downpour Saturday- a regular toad strangler. The high yesterday was 82*, and about four in the afternoon, the temperature began to drop ahead of a cool north breeze. It was delicious!
I haven't checked on what it is supposed to do today or tomorrow.
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Well, me fellow blackberry hunters have wakened on their own, so I suppose I better go get more appropriately dressed and get out the door before the cool of the morning turns to the heat of July. Have a blessed day!

Hmmmm

We looked at two places last night, and did a driveby on the fourth place on our list. The third place, we looked at this morning. "Funny"... the place this morning was one we did a drive by on a couple or three years ago, and rejected due to the location. (It stayed on the possibility list until it sold, though. Now it is back.) It is 8.33 acres, on the inside curve of a circular road. Perched on a hillside. Dogs roaming freely for ours to "pack" with. It is a "newer" mobile home, but a smoker lives there and it needs some work. Right now it is "second" on the list.

The "real" house is on 1.4 acres. It is quite old, and has had some updates. The front bath opens off the kitchen... the bath is "updated" like a home makeover show- new tub, pedestal sink. The kitchen- Hmmm. I think it is somewhere in the 40's. The dining room, Becky would love. It is scarlet red, with white accents. The front bedroom is electric lime green. The second bedroom, off the laundry room off the kitchen... has the second bathroom IN it. Not divided off... but the tub and toilet three feet from the bed. On the plus side, it has nice trees, including fruit trees on the place. This place is "third".
The driveby will remain off the list, as far as I am concerned.

The doublewide in first place is on 10 acres, down south of Watts, OK. We saw it three or four years ago online, I don't know if it has sold in the meanwhile or was rented out, but is "new" again to the market. This place felt more like home than any we have looked at to date. It has a muddy red pond, very like our Central High place. I just really liked it best, though it had some drawbacks- like "rural water" instead of a well. And price... It is most expensive, except for the real house.

So we are thinking it over. All the places except this one made me feel... uncomfortable. I can't pin down why. The place this morning (the second place contender) had me feeling almost panicky. Third place, I felt antsy... but not so much as this morning. The "first place" contender, as I said, just felt like "home". We will see what Mr C decides to do!

House hunting, chapter ??

I have lost track of the number of places we have looked at on the great house quest. This evening, we go to see 2 more places, both in Watts, OK. One is a 'real house' on a large lot. The other is a doublewide on 10 acres. Tomorrow, we have an early appointment to see a place (another doublewide) on 8 acres near Jane, MO. There is a fourth place, which we haven't scheduled yet, in Maysville, AR. Maysville has one foot in Oklahoma, and is a stones throw from MO.

Anyway... *yawn*.

We went to the library this morning, then to WM for groceries and sundries. I feel like I am falling asleep in my tracks. I should be in there making jelly... I need some giddyap and go. Today is Ben's 4am-1pm shift.

Guess I ought to make myself a cup of tea and see about getting that jelly started. Or maybe just have a nap.

Yikes!

Yesterday's cleaning/ rearranging had an expensive side effect. When we were cleaning out the aquarium, I noticed the bottom seal seemed to be loose. Ben checked it and decided it was OK, and shouldn't leak. Later in the afternoon, I noticed the water level seemed to be down a good half inch. I thought I might be mistaken, but noted the water level.

About 8:30, I happened to glance and the aquarium again... and the water level was down a good two inches. I investigated. The mat it sits on was saturated. There was water on the floor behind the buffet. I quickly began fishing out the three goldfish, and plopped them into the gallon jar we had used earlier while cleaning out the tank. I put the aerator in with them, and send Ben off to Wal~Mart, the only place I figured would be sure to have an aquarium at 9:00 pm!

When he returned, it wasn't with the simple 10 gallon tank I had sent for. All they had was a "complete aquarium set up". $50.00 plus tax. Egads! These are three stupid GOLDFISH. I'm not 100% sure, but I think we bought them when we lived in Westville, to keep Petey company after some fishy disease killed off his tank mates. Not including fish food, we probably have a good $20 each invested in GOLDFISH.

But I didn't demand Ben return the set-up and leave the fishes crowded into the gallon jar. We set it up, and it looks quite nice. The boys were pitching all the old stuff in the trash. I said NO. Who knows when we might have need of a terrarium.

Today we have more cleaning on the agenda. And maybe making the second batch of blackberry jelly- we never did get to that yesterday.

Magic 8 Ball

I finally made the time to upload a picture of Daniel and Sam and their "Magic 8 Ball" birthday cake. The boys were 13 on June 17th. (Dan is in the red shirt, if you can't tell them apart.)