Great Grandmother Carol

It's hard to believe this was 2 months ago already.

Tara was just 6 weeks old in this photo.

She's getting bigger and cuter every day!

Zinnias

I don't know how I've overlooked the common zinnia all these years whenever I looked at seed packets. My friend Celia had mentioned that she plants them every year so I thought I would plant some this spring.

Every time I walk past our side door and glance outside, this is what I see this summer ... glorious zinnias filling up my small garden. I could stand there all day, admiring their blazing colors.

"My Happy Place"

Live.Love.Lead.

We had the opportunity to hear Dan Cathy, the President and COO of Chick-fil-A, speak the other night at our church. What a message! He is passionate about his restaurants, his customers and his employees. His goal is to see the fulfillment of the Chick-fil-A Corporate Purpose: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

How cool is THAT?

Eat Mor Chikin!

3 Months

Tara Rose gets sweeter ...

and more beautiful ...

and busier ...

Every single day!

Great Grandmother Dode

When Tara was just 6 weeks old.

Thankful

When I look out our office window today, down into the driveway

I see my husband who is hot, sweaty, frustrated

working on the kids' cars in the blazing August sun.

Kelly gets new brakes today.

Matt gets new struts and more (springs?).

I get to be thankful for a husband who cares enough to do things like this.

Even though he really doesn't have to.

But he wants to. And he's good at it.

Gemeinhardt

Many years ago (about 4o) my dad took me to the local music store and he bought this flute for me.

I was so excited. And scared at the same time.

Because he believed in my musical ability enough to pay lots of money for a very nice flute.

This flute and I went almost everywhere together for 4 years during high school - marching band, concert band, orchestra, weekly lessons.

And then it was over. Stashed away in closets and attics until my niece asked to borrow it last year.

She recently returned it to me. I won't put it back in the attic. It deserves better.

I may even dust it off from time to time and see if my fingers remember how it goes ...

Homemade

The hubster got busy in the kitchen the other night.

I stayed out of the way.

Slicing, dicing, chopping, generally making a big mess.

Tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro ...

Pretty soon we had some awesome salsa.

The kind you can't stop eating even though your nose won't stop running.

Well done, honey!

Front and Back

One of the things I enjoyed most about our trip to Kentucky was the people, young and old, that we met and became friends with. Lydia is a sparkling 3 year old who loves to read books on the porch swing (and you know how much I hate doing things like that!) and play with her brothers.

Lydia at the horse farm ... so excited to be there ...

I don't know which was cuter, the front view or the back view!

Overnight

Late June in Eolia, Kentucky

An industrious little spider worked overtime during the night to create this complex spiderweb on one of the SWAP work trucks. Glad we noticed it before the truck drove to the job site!

Sonny 3

"Sonny 3"

Frequent visitor on the long front porch at E.C.C.O.

When the kids told me his name, I thought they were saying "Sunny D' like the beverage. Later their dad explained that the cat is named "Sonny 3" because there were 2 other "Sonny" cats before him. Not sure what the story is, didn't want to ask. Down in the hills of Kentucky there's a far different perspective about pets and how to care for them - I learned that by listening to the stories of several of the older men we met and talked with. (We'll leave it at that.)

Rocky

Rocky, The Belching Horse

On a recent trip into the hills of eastern Kentucky, I visited a farm that's home to many horses. I was with a group of homeschool moms and their many pre-school children. The man who was giving us the tour of the barn came in, walking an enormous horse named Rocky.He explained to the children that Rocky was a Belgian work horse. They all looked up at the beautiful brown horse, eyes wide at the sight of this huge animal. Then I heard the funniest thing ....

Off to the side of the group, I heard a little boy whisper to his mom in an urgent tone: "MOM! What's a BELCHING horse??"

Success

They may be a funny shape.

And they're very small.

But they're still homegrown tomatoes.

From our very own back porch.

Needs No Explanation ...

I sees you, baby! And I loves you very much!

Trash to Treasures

Our village sponsored its annual "Trash to Treasures" community-wide yard sale today. This, in my opinion, is more fun than Christmas Day! I love looking through other peoples old unwanted stuff and enjoy the "thrill of the hunt" as I wander from street to street, never knowing what kind of deal I'll stumble across. The hubster found a couple of boxes of old tools and a Leatherman gadget; I, on the other hand, found some colorful baby toys, a cute Halloween costume for Tara's first trick-or-treat night and a hand mixer. (Which - my daughter pointed out to me - I had already bought one for her at a yard sale previously. Oh well, for one dollar I now have a back-up hand mixer in my pantry.)

QUACK!

Oh, and best of all, some sweet little kitty cat Robeez ....brand new, for $2. I think that's a pretty good deal, right? From what I've heard, these are pricey little shoes.

Happiness Is ....

Sweet Tara Rose

10 Weeks Old

Oh so precious and beautiful!

My first grandchild who brings me so much joy.

Twenty

LUCY
Her official "20 years old" portrait.
Not so bad for being a geriatric cat (as the vet refers to her).
She may be scruffy and walk funny but she's still loving life!

The Feline Fans

The OSU scarf works equally well for cats though it really is a little too big. The photos of the cats were much easier to take; they didn't enjoy the experience but at least they held still.

Pepper went first - not thrilled but she sat and posed for me:



Then I scooped up Kirby and forced her to comply - got this picture just as she was plotting her escape off the counter:



Beanie made no effort to hide his disgust at the exercise, trying to ignore me and pretend I wasn't right there in his face with a camera. He was not purring and he was not happy.





I didn't dare try to put the scarf on poor old Lucy for fear she'd launch into a fatal wheezing spell. Just didn't have the heart to do it.

Oh, and one last picture of a blind old OSU fan:



Kelly, I know if you'd have been here you would have jumped right in and had fun doing this ... there's no telling where else this scarf might show up in the future!

New Ohio State Fans - The Canines

I came across the Ohio State pet scarf that Kelly had bought some time ago, still in its packaging. Of course I knew what I needed to do ....

Pixie thought it was a big game - chewing, twisting, turning and finally pulling it off to run around the yard with the scarf in her mouth. Bad puppy.

Tyson behaved himself - though he didn't enjoy the process, he made sure to show me his best side with a nice smile. He's our only compliant child.

And Tango, well, she was so focused on playing ball that she didn't even realize that I had tied a scarf around her neck. The biggest challenge was to get her to sit still and stop staring at the ball at my feet. I finally got her to look up so I could take her picture, though the results weren't too terrific.

Kelly, I hope you appreciate these new Buckeye fans! You know how hard this was to do by myself! Now wait until you see the feline photos - they were actually easier to take than the dogs, if you can believe that!

They Don't Feed Me Any More ...

Or at least that's what the casual observer would think. Chris has stopped the morning routine of wet cat food (one small can, split between 4 cats - it wasn't much) and Kirby has just gone berserk looking for food. Evidently the dry cat food is no longer acceptable - the wet cat food treat (even though it lasted only a few months) was enough to spoil her. She meows incessantly in the kitchen, trolling for people food, jumping on the counters and has even lowered herself to munching on the dog food.

The other night she was making such a nuisance of herself while we were eating dinner that Chris gave in to her begging and gave her some ravioli - and she ate it! She also enjoyed some spaghetti sauce the other evening. She's really gone nuts in her old age!