Wild and Crazy

It's been another wild and crazy kind of day. We headed out to VBS this morning and picked up Sara and Alysa on the way. Yesterday I just kind of hung around and looked for little things to do. Today there was a crying three year-old who wanted his mom (she was teaching) or brother. He insisted on crying and the opening program had just started so I, heartless as I am, decided to take him out until he was done crying. He carried on for quite a bit longer than I had anticipated but I didn't give in either. Actually, I am not totally heartless. This is the same little guy who just spent the entire past school year here with me and he will be back in September. I knew he would be fine. When he finally gave up and stopped crying I took him back in and became a helper in the preschool class. (Believe me, they need help!)

After VBS we went over to Rachel's for a swim. My very kind brother in law offered me a cold drink. I was quite warm and graciously accepted. He gave it to me in a kiddie cup complete with a lid and a built-in straw/handle. I decided to pour it into a regular glass and in the process proceeded to pour the drink out of the straw/handle and down the front of my shirt... I think I should have obliged him and used the kiddie cup. At least it was a nice clear drink and not red Kool-Aid!

It's another tired evening and I have more berries to pick... Good thing a second wind usually arrives not long from now.

Putting My Feet Up

My kids arrived home from Nova Scotia yesterday morning, very tired but safe. Six lobsters, which were promptly turned into dinner, also arrived. We cooked them up along with some fresh corn on the cob. Mmmm, good!

Today was the first day of VBS at church. Ben and Hannah are both helping and had to be there by 8:15 am. We left church at noon, ran home for a quick sandwich and then Hannah and I headed up to town so I could have my van inspected. I already knew there was an issue with the horn (it wasn't a big deal), but they also found a problem with something in the steering which was about ready to give. No money saved this week... I spent the afternoon visiting Shelly and Hannah had some time with Jessi. Aside from washing my sheets and blanket, I didn't accomplish much of anything here at home and now I'm tired. I just finished a small cup of coffee, maybe that will wake me up enough to pick a few berries in another half hour or so...

Berry Nice!

I have spent hours out in the blueberry patch today. My face and arms are probably sunburned, a natural occurrence when standing in the high noon sun for too long. I picked two buckets full of berries, most of which will go out by the road to sell. I literally work for peanuts when it comes to this job. There are times when I love the peacefulness of the blueberry patch and other times when I dread going out there again. Funny thing is that even when I'm dreading it I can't seem to drag myself away. Thursday evening I went out, the sun shining overhead, and in five or ten minutes it was raining. The rain was warm so I just kept picking until the timer hooked on my pocket started to beep signaling it was time for supper. The rain was streaming down my face and my shirt was soaked.

My blueberry patch looks a little bit sadder every year. Today while I was picking, a couple of people dove a golf cart by on the orchard road. I heard the woman say, "There's a lady picking her blueberries. That patch doesn't look near as healthy as the Foxes blueberries. Do you want to go see them?" She had no idea I could hear everything she was saying over the sound of their motor and the crunching of gravel. The Foxes own the orchards. They have a beautiful blueberry patch. Maybe some day I'll have a patch like that... maybe not... For now, I'll just enjoy what God has given me and be glad that I can share them with my friends and neighbors.

She Eats Like a Bird...

What does "eats like a bird" mean anyway? I looked up the phrase and this is what I found-

Definition: eat very little
Explanation: Used when speaking about someone who needs very little food to get by, often used when criticizing someone for not eating enough.
Examples: She eats like a bird, it's no wonder she's skinny! - You're eating like a bird, I wish you would eat just a little more.

Well, I knew that is what the definition would be, trouble is I'm not sure that's what it really means. I think people who eat like birds likely just pick and poke at their food. Maybe they eat very little, maybe they eat a lot, just not all at once. I think they play with and poke at their food enough so that it isn't fit for anyone else to eat. Maybe they don't even want it themselves but they pick at it anyway. Maybe they take a bite or two, find they "don't like it" and then ask for something else.

There are more than enough blueberries in the patch for both myself and the birds, but the birds have this annoying habit of leaving just a peck or two in about a bazillion berries and finishing very few of them. Nobody but Jasmine really wants to eat bird-pecked berries so they are tossed aside. I don't suppose the birds find them once they are "berried" in the grass and I'm afraid to collect them to feed my feathered friends lest I should attract even more. For now, I continue to throw them away or toss them to the dog. She doesn't know the meaning of "eat like a bird", she just "wolfs them down".

Taking Pictures

I decided to take the camera in to the camera store and get some advice. The zoom is stuck out, which means the lens is out too, and it won't go back in. I can't take any photos because there is no picture in the view finder. I can, however, still see the pictures on the card and transfer them to and from my computer. The cost to fix it? Likely between $150-$200. The cost of a new camera very much like this one, $300. It was also suggested that I email Olympus and ask what the estimated repair cost would be but I'm thinking it may be smart to start saving for a new one rather than send this one in for repairs. Between selling blueberries and babysitting Sara and Alysa (I don't charge full price for either), I could have the money in three or four weeks providing that I don't need to buy anything else... I can always hope. (Maybe I'd better start praying too.)

These are my Black-eyed Susans. They're so pretty blooming in the summer, a little splash of sunshine in my yard.

News Flash! The Vacationers Part 2

Here they are again, Joe and Beth, at the Atlantic Ocean. (No throwin' those rocks in the lake!) By the end of this week they will have travelled all over Nova Scotia and will be too tired to come home again.

I am really appreciating the photos as the original plan was for Bethany and I to drive up there together. I'm sad that I couldn't go but more than blessed to have three of my kids there. When I was a kid my dad took us to the coast of Maine two years in a row. It's one of my favorite vacation memories.

Butterfly

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I like my garden. It looks lush and green. I am growing celery, tomatoes, 2 kinds of cucumbers, bell peppers and chile peppers, and butternut squash. Oh yes, and a bed of annuals too. This year I can actually walk between the rows of vegetables and stay on my feet.

I do miss the beans, beets, and corn this year. My neighbor is supplying me with zucchini and last night we had it sliced and stuffed with meat, rice and cheese. I'm still trying to figure out how to get my chile peppers to grow 8-10 inches long instead of 2 inches. If anyone has any ideas, throw them this way. My spinach bolted in the hot weather (time to plant some more pretty soon) and peas just don't grow good for me. I've munched a few raw pods but there just weren't enough to have for supper. Sweet corn... my that sounds good! Might have to drive around the corner and find some of that for supper!

The Guessing Game

Yesterday afternoon was our church picnic down at the park. This year someone decided to have a little bit of fun and filled several canning jars with various candies and gumballs. Our job was to guess how many were in each jar. I found this slightly amuzing because just a couple weeks ago I found a book at the library on estimating. It was a kid's book so I brought it home. I glanced through the book and apparently my kids did too. Not only did Ben win one jar and Hannah two, but they told my favorite daughter in law how to figure about how many were in the jars too. There were ten jars of candy and the Teals went home with seven! Go Teals!

News Flash! The Vacationers

Here they are, my three darlin's at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. (Thank you Grandmanita for the wonderful photograph!) They arrived safely yesterday afternoon and, of course, Grandma had to take them out for a little tour.

Sunday Evening

Don't know why I chose this photo tonight. Guess I just wanted to post something before I head upstairs to bed. Tomorrow starts a new week. I'll need to go to the grocery store because I decided to stay home and pick blueberries on Saturday. Soon it will be time to pick cucumbers and make pickles. I think I'm going to miss the camera...

A Glowing Report

Ben and Hannah had a great week at camp. I don't think Hannah has ever had so much to say in her entire life as she had to say on the drive home. They learned new songs, made new friends, and can't wait to go back again next year. Bethany made sure to get a package in the mail in time for Hannah's birthday. Whoever gets a package or three letters in one day has to sing in order to receive their mail. This is a long standing tradition which Bethany is well aware of. They do sing as a group so it isn't quite so embarrassing but they must sing. Aside from going to chapel twice a day there were plenty of activities; fishing, archery, swimming, crafts... Each group had to make up and perform a skit for the rest of the campers. I'm told these can be quite entertaining. They also had Bible verses to memorize and lessons to complete. There was a rest time at mid-day and a bit of free time too. They had some rain, mostly at night, and a lot of wind on Friday morning. I'm so glad my kids love this place as I went as a fifteen year old and was less than impressed.

The camp is just over 85 years old and consists of several small cabins for groups or children's camps, a dining hall, craft shack, the "tabernacle" for group meetings, and several privately owned cabins. It sits directly on the shore of Lake Ontario in the shadow of Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant. I joke that my kids always come home glowing but remember too that Moses also came back glowing after his encounter with the Lord.

I'd post a few camp photos but my camera has decided not to work properly. (Wouldn'tcha know?) I will probably be sending it in for repairs early next week. Until then I'll just have to post pictures I've already taken. Good thing I have a bunch!

Singing the Blues

It's blueberry picking time. They're a little smaller this year due to lack of rain, but sweet and yummy just the same. Jasmine thinks they're wonderful and accompanies me to the patch whenever I venture out there. She knows I'll toss her a berry or two every once in a while. She gets those which have been pecked by birds but she doesn't care or know the difference. For the next couple of weeks we'll be stuffing our faces with blueberries and hopefully picking enough to sell a few quarts out front. If you call and get our answering machine, you can bet we're out in the blueberry patch. Mmmmmm!

Ready for the Weekend

I've been doing slightly better than normal keeping up with my gardens this summer. Sara and Alysa have been helping me dead-head marigolds and the rain of the past couple weeks has given me a rest from everyday watering of the vegetables. The cats would help if they just knew what to do. Instead they follow me out to the garden or come meowing in the midst of my job. They're always looking for a little attention. Even marigolds don't keep Oreo out of the garden and the dive-bombing Barn Swallows don't deter the cats either. I think my animals enjoy this time of year as much as I do and just want to share the time with me.

Anyway, the kids are home from camp and the weekend is here. I wish I could say that weekends are relaxing but they usually aren't. There is always plenty to do. There are errands to run, chores to accomplish, and places to be. Tomorrow there is a graduation party in the park and on Sunday afternoon a church picnic. By Sunday night I'll be ready for Monday and a break in the activity!

The Warm Fuzzies

When I was a little girl we used to catch a fuzzy seed floating past in the breeze, make a wish, and blow it back into the air. I used to wish for a baby brother (I thought it would be fun to have a baby in the house) but I never got one. I recall wondering where those tiny seeds came from and where they were going. Sometimes I feel like one of them, tossed around by the wind, hanging on for dear life, never really knowing where I am headed. I'm sure those little seeds aren't concerned about their destination. Somehow they trust that the One who made them is in control. He will take them safely to the journey's end. I have to wonder why I struggle so to hang on when He has me safely in His arms.

Out of the Ordinary

It has been a different kind of week. With Ben and Hannah gone to camp the house has been quieter. There seems to be less to do and yet more at the same time. I have accomplished only a few of the tasks I had in mind to do while they were gone, forgetting that I would still have two little girls here with me four out of the five days. I thought maybe I would have a chance to do a little visiting but I didn't plan ahead and Monday passed me by. On Tuesday I took the girls over to swim at Rachel's house. (Thanks Rach, I needed that!) Yesterday I slept longer than I wanted to and too soon it was time to get the girls from summer school. We popped in on Shelly before heading home and interrupted her plans. (She was very gracious and didn't throw us out.) Today we stopped at the library after school and found that they were just finishing up a presentaion on birds. (We did get to hear about and see the Barn Owl named Melinda.) Late tomorrow afternoon we'll head back up to get the kids from camp, watch the closing ceremony, and return home. It will be dark when we get back and the week will be coming to a close. It's not been a bad week just different than I had anticipated. Now I'm looking forward to next week and hearing about my kids and their vacation adventure.

Consider the Lilies

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27

Lilies have never been one of my favorite flowers but the more I see them the more they grow on me. I never realized how many varieties and colors there are and I'm actually thinking maybe I should have something in my gardens besides this orange kind. Maybe some of those Asiatic lilies, bright colors that face downward and look like a chandelier.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

She's gone to camp this week, but this is her big day! She's turning twelve without me. What happened to my baby?

A Gaggle of Goosenecks

Funny little flowers that grow in one of my gardens. I used to think them rather ugly but now I kind of like them.

You're Buggin' Me!

I'm having more fun watching the bugs in my "Ugly Garden" than looking at the flowers in the others. There must be a million grasshoopers and, ya know, they all look just slightly different. They are brown, gray, bright green, and stripey looking. Some stare into the camera with a funny, curious look in their eyes and others hop away before I can get anywhere near them.

I'm not sure what they're eating in there but I don't think it's caterpillars. They're likely eating anything green and growing, grass, flowers, weeds... I wish they'd finish off some of those pesky Japanese beetles!

A grasshoppper could never be lonely in that milkweed patch! There are not only plenty of other hoppers but frogs, toads, bees, beetles, and caterpillars, not to mention a cat or two who like to take naps in the shady milkweed forest. It also makes a super grasshopper playground! Lots of stems to climb, leaves to bounce, and flowers to swing on. Pure grasshopper adventure! Then again, maybe the milkweed patch is just a nice cool place to hide from the birds who are looking for a tasty grasshopper snack. (Too bad they already made a movie!)