Steve is so talented

He missed his calling, I think. The back yard is really shaping up, he got more river rock and a couple more stones last night. The hostas are getting devoured by slugs. The usual treatments don't seem to be working. I read somewhere that they don't like lava rock, so Steve came home with a few bags of it last night to put in around the hostas to see if that stops them. If it works, he'll put it around the rest of them.

I think when it is all done it will be time for a sisters only brunch on the patio furniture before it really heats up. The last one I did was so fun, it was a great time just sitting there visiting with the girls.

The patio stones are down

Steve finished laying them last night. The weather was a scorching 93, with a humidity of 78 or something like that. I wanted to go help him carry the stones, they weigh about 20# each, but he wouldn't hear of it. I poured iced tea into him by the gallons, he worries me working like that in the heat. HE is a desk jockey now, he isn't used to working in the heat like he used to, but I can't seem to get him to slow down.

Tonight he will get more river rock to finish the edges of the garden, then he'll put up the fountain.

I have been buying plants like crazy, I can't resist them, our local wal-mart had hanging baskets for $3, I can't seem to resist them. I came home with 9 of them on Sunday. I have them hanging everywhere! I love to see live plants and flowers all over. And to think I never used to plant a thing!

Landscaping

We bought approx. 125 landscaping stones a couple weeks ago, along with a 3 tiered fountain to put in the backyard. If that doesn't attract birds, nothing will, I think. I want to thank my family for the fountain, because of their gift certificate they gave me on my birthday, it made the fountain possible. I love it, and can't wait for it to be put in.

While visiting the Amanas, we noticed the houses all have boards running up the sides of them where the owners plant grape vines. The grapes crawl up the boards and make a beautiful display of fruit. We are going to put some on a small fence at the edge of the property to feed the birds. I remember our neighbor had vines when I was a kid.

This weekend is our family July 4th celebration. I have a list of things I am going to make to take along. I love these things, it is a good time to enjoy each other's families. I really enjoy the little ones, we rarely see them, so it is a lot of fun.

Luuuuucccccyyyyyyyyy, I am Hoooommmmme!

Isaac cracks me up when he does that, we did it to him tonight, he isn't thrilled with our sense of humor sometimes, haha.

A couple nights ago Isaac went fishing with a couple of his friends, and got in late, around 10:30 or 11:00. Before I tell you what I did to him, I want you to know how often he jumps out from behind a wall, a door, a closet, or whatever and scares the life out of me. I happened to be taking a load of laundry out of the dryer (which is located right behind the back door.) when he shoved the door open, his arms came in with the tackle box, his pole, and the net. He came in just a little bit, I stuck my hand out and said "BOO". No loud voice, nothing, he jumped and was instantly irritated. I laughted quietly until my sides hurt. See, no sense of humor in him at times!

Steve and I didn't go to Galena, we decided to go to the Amanas, spur of the moment. I called a bed and breakfast that was listed in a guide book we picked up in the visitor center. What a nice place, we had a great breakfast there this morning. Steve's boss told him he didn't like B&B's because you have to eat a 'communal' breakfast together. So, Steve wasn't sure about doing that, but knew i would love to meet new friends. (Since he says I NEVER MEET STRANGERS! Wonder what he means by THAT? HA!) We met a couple about our age, they sat at our table, and we had the nicest visit. We took a long walk, then started visiting all the shops. It was so much fun! We did see a copper guy, his work is so neat. I love the great big Heron and the Praying Mantis! The colors on everything were so vivid. I love that kind of thing. He also had some mosaiced bird baths, I have always wanted to do mosaics, but could never bring myself to breaking up perfectly good dishes.

WEll, just got home a bit ago, ready to do the laundry and get to bed!

I love TRIPS!!!

Steve and I are going to a woodcarving show in Davenport this weekend, he has wanted to check this one out for many years. It is so neat to get to do these things together. While there, he suggested we go to Galena, which is only an hour or so away. I can't wait, I love Galena. They have a Winery and a little butcher shop, a place that makes cheese, and last, a town full of quaint little antique shops.

I wish I had thought about booking a B&B while we are there, sometimes I can be so silly!

Things that make you smile

It is weird, I always wondered why older people enjoyed the birds so much. I thought it was because their children were all grown. Maybe that is part of it, but I have been devouring books on how to attract birds that I want to my yard to come by means of different feeders, nectars, peanut butter, etc. I am so mad at the grackles for invading my yard. The little birds that sing so nice are intimidated by them.

Last night I was thrilled to get a grosbeak, it is such a pretty bird, it was on the feeder with a cardinal and an indigo bunting, so I had a bright red bird, a bright blue bird, and a black bird with a patch of white and red under his beak all on the feeder at once, it was a sight to behold.

Grosbeak:

Indigo Bunting:

Cardinal:

I relented

Steve wanted to get a pellet gun to 'kill' the grackles. He did, and they are going away, but it kind of makes me sick to my stomach. I can't quit thinking if he is killing a mother.

Life can move so fast sometimes

This week has been a whirlwind of activity since we got home. The usual, all the laundry to wash, had to get groceries, flowers were dying of thirst, some had to be replaced. Got home to a yard full of GRACKLES, the meanest bird God invented I think. They actually rip the heads off little birds if they want to take over a territory. Can you say BB Gun? It makes them leary of coming to the backyard. So far it is working a little better than I thought it would.

I love the birds, I am trying to lure in some Orioles that live in the tree next door to us. So, I have grape jelly, Grapefruit, and an orange Suet we got at the feed store. No sign of an oriole this side of the evergreen trees that divide our property. So, I bought a little feeder that holds sunflower seeds and peanuts. I filled it with safflower seeds. It is hard for a grackle to sit on, and it attracts the kind of birds we WANT in our yard. I tried the big sign "NO GRACKLES" but they must not be old enought to read, they continue to frequent our feeders. I kind of go crazy when I decide I want something. I research it to death, then try to figure out a way to get it done. The bird feeder Steve built for me is way cool. I also have a bird bath, and I found a cool plastic one at Wal-Mart (my home away from home) the other day. Very cool. They love it, I hung it up on Sunday, it is almost empty. I read on the web it needs to be sheltered, so tonight, in the tree it goes, so it isn't open to predators. WHO KNEW?

Well, got to go, take care all.

LUCY, I'm Hooooooome!

Isaac shouts that most of the time when he comes in the back door, he is such a light hearted soul.

Steve and I returned from Colonial Williamsburg, it was such a relaxing time. We spent a lot of time in the car. Aren't vacations weird? First you can't wait to get there, then you can't wait to get home! We drove 925 miles on Thursday so we could sleep in our own bed, and slept I did, like a rock, it was great.

I had a chance to re-acquaint myself with a bead friend from the International Society of Glass Bead Makers, her name is Ann Scherm Baldwin, her husband is a minister. She makes beads, and is just the most delightful person I know. She is very diplomatic, grounded, sweet and a great friend. We met her in Virginia Beach, went to the bead store where she has beads on display, then ate lunch with her. We had a good time discussing the politics of the Organization mentioned above. Isn't life interesting sometimes?

We would have never been able to do this if it hadn't been for the newest member of our family: RUBY! Ruby is the name I gave our GPS system. We purchased it at the Bass Pro Shop, who would have known that something like that could make life so much easier? Steve's brother Scott rented one on his vacation to Hawaii last month, he was telling us all about it when he and his new wife Deb were down for my 50th brithday. We were so curious, I called to ask them all kinds of questions about it, he insisted we borrow it for our trip, but "borrow" is a bad word to Steve. He is always afraid that something will happen to the borrowed item and we would have to replace it, so we found out all the details, and went to Bass Pro to buy one of our own. I am so glad we did, Steve tells everybody it prevented a lot of arguing, but on the other hand, we had nothing to talk about! How silly, any of you that know me know the trip was anything but silent. HA!

We spent 2 days in Williamsburg, we blew thru there in one day, but somehow missed the museum and the carpenter's shop. We made a trip back the 2nd day to see those two things.

I have many photos, but have to figure out how to get them off the camera and onto the pc. It is not as simple a processs as it was with my old camera.

The last thing I wanted to say is we tried to stop in Columbia Missouri to visit the pie shop Karen worked in when she lived there, but couldn't get the phone number from anybody while on the road. We missed it, when I got home, I looked it up and we were 3 minutes away from it on the highway. I wish we could have stopped to thank the ladies for their kindness toward Karen when she lived in Columbia. They acted as surrogate mother to her, and I am forever grateful. They are very interesting women, they started a pie shop that has been on food network twice, and been in Southern Living Magazine. Their pies are great, I ordered one for my dad for Father's day after Karen came home. He really liked it, he is and always was a peach pie fan, this one had a crumb crust, I have never been able to find a recipe to make one with a crumb crust. If any of you reading this have one, please send it to me. Right now, I have to ready myself for work, tomorrow marks the week of my go-live in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) the facial recognition piece i have been talking about. This will be a very busy week for me, so pray for me to have strength and stamina, I will need it.

By the way, Hi Mikie, I love you, and am very impressed you are interested enough in all of our lives to read our blogs.

Hi, Karen Fleharty, I love you and pray for you often, but I will not let you think I am amazing, I did not home school my children, if I had, they would have to drag out a globe out to the table every time they hear about a country, because I stunk BAD at geography! I feel very blessed to have you as a lifelong friend.