Tuesday, July 31, 2012

It's Time for Barn Charm!



I always love running across a quilt barn.  Hope you enjoy them, too!


This old building is just to the right of the red quilt barn.  I liked the stack of firewood next to it, even though it's definitely not needed right now!   These photos were taken the first week of July before the grass turned completely brown.  We are still needing rain desperately in most areas in Missouri.  

I will get by to see your barns when I can.  I'll be packing and leaving
today for a little getaway.  Thank you all for your sweet comments on my 
post yesterday!  

 To see some wonderful barns around the country, be sure to visit
Tricia's Barn Charm.

Until next time...

Monday, July 30, 2012


Good morning!  We have another day of sunshine in store and the forecast is for many hot days ahead.   How was your weekend?  Before I get to the main topic in today's post, I want to welcome my newest followers.  Also, I wanted to answer a question about the flower in last Thursday's post.  The white flower is a zinnia which has lost many of it's petals.  I love zinnias.  They are a hardy flower and very easy to grow. 

Now, on to the good stuff!!


 I was nominated for 3 awards last week!!  
 
For the first two, I want to say a big Thank You to Cranky Puppy Farm for nominating me for One Lovely Blog Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  Cranky Puppy is a fellow Missourian who hopes to move to their 40 acre farm some day.  She has a great blog along with wonderful photos.  Be sure to drop by for a visit!  


 Next, I want to thank Dianna at These Days of Mine for choosing me as one of the nominees for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award.  Isn't that a great name for an award?  Among the blogging world is a wonderful group of women who have so much in common and who are blogging sisters/friends.  I am so glad to be part of this sisterhood!  Be sure to visit Dianna's lovely blog if you don't already know her.

Now, in order to accept these awards I must choose 15 other bloggers for the first two and 5 bloggers for the third to pass along these awards to.  You probably see my dilemma, so I'm going to take the easy way out and invite anyone who would like to have any or all of these awards to choose them and let me know if you do.  There are many who choose not to participate in awards now and part of that reason is to avoid hurt feelings.  I don't wish to leave anyone out because all of the blogs I read are deserving of awards, so I hope those who nominated me will allow me to give my awards to whoever would like to have them!
  
Lastly, I am to tell 7 things about myself that you don't already know, so here in no particular order are my 7 things:
 
1 -  I miss having a piano in the house.  We sold my square grand  because we didn't have enough room for it in this house.  I have a electronic keyboard, but its not the same.  I'm really not that great a pianist, but I still love to play.  It's relaxing.

2 - I used to love to dance, well I still do, but Mr Twinkle Toes doesn't so I dance to music in my kitchen all by myself.

3 - I love music, but can't carry a tune.  I wish I could sing like Barbra Streisand.

4 -This makes me a bad wife, I guess, but I hate making my hubby's lunch every day!  In all fairness, he probably hates eating them.

5 - I love magazines and have many including a stack at least 4 foot high.  I've always intended to go through them and clip what I want to keep.  Maybe someday.

6 - I've always been told that I look much younger than I am, which aggravated me to be treated like I was still a kid when I wasn't.  But now, I like it, even though I'm not exactly treated like I'm a kid any longer.  Ha!

7 - I'm having sleep issues, not getting enough sleep, so I know that it will only be a matter of time that I can cross out # 6!

Until next time...

Friday, July 27, 2012

Marley






Happiness is a warm puppy.  ~Charles M. Schulz

Marley will be going to live in a new home this weekend.
She's been a joy to know and we will miss her.

Until next time...

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Thursday's this and that


Your cat will never threaten your popularity by barking at three in the morning.  He won't attack the mailman or eat the drapes, although he may climb the drapes to see how the room looks from the ceiling.  ~Helen Powers
   
Life continues to be interesting with two kitties in the
house.  I have the spray bottle in reach at all times.  For such
a moment as the quote above describes.  Actually, Stormy has
outgrown such shenanigans, but the kitten we call Peanut
is just getting warmed up.  
 

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.  ~Author Unknown

Stormy and Peanut get along really well, much to my
surprise.  They love to wrestle and play together.  This is
good exercise for Stormy who, prior to Peanut coming to
live with us, was getting fat and lazy.  The outside kitties have
been trying to cope with the heat and we keep fresh water out 
every day which they like.  Truman, who is in the first photo
with Peanut and Stormy, is coming around and will now
let us touch him.  I hope he will get tame enough for us to
find a home for him and his sister.


I have one bit of exciting news to share.  We got our new
 shingles on today.  We went with black and it looks great.  
The color isn't stark black and, with the sun shining on it, it 
really looks more like a dark gray.  I didn't think they would
 do this until cooler weather, but they called this week and 
said they would go ahead and get the work done.  It feels 
so good to get one item crossed off the list!  Up next, 
the bathroom project, when the weather is much cooler, that is.
We're hoping for a little rain this week and a cooling of
temperatures.  I'll be ready to dance in the rain, if it happens.

Until next time...

Monday, July 23, 2012


A white barn with a quilt block is this week's offering.  The
block is a 9 Patch and was the pattern of the first quilt the
wife made when she first began quilting.  

This photo was taken the second day of July and you can see how brown
the grass was then.  We're on day 17 of 100 degrees or more temperatures
for this year.  The tv weatherperson said tonight that in 1936 there were 
44 days of 100 or more degrees for this area.  Can you
 imagine living through that with no air conditioning?  

To see some really great barns around the country,
head on over to Tricia's Barn Charm.

Until next time...

Gone But Not Forgotten


We learned last Friday that Dad's tree had been cut down by
the State Department.  I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the
news.  So, we hopped in the car and headed down the highway
to see if the news was indeed true.  Yes, it was true.  For those of
you who may be new or fairly new readers, I told the story in a 
past post how my elderly dad (now deceased) would always be 
sure to say, each time we drove down the highway and passed by this tree, 
how it was almost a perfect shape and how much he admired it.  We began
 to refer to this particular tree as "Dad's tree".  It dawned on me one
day that he was making sure that he wasn't forgottenThat I would
think of him each time I saw the tree.  Now, the tree is gone, cut 
down for whatever reason.   I thought it would stand forever.  It
wasn't hollow as we could see the stump where the cut was
made.  Another tree was cut down not far from this one.  It was
easy to see that the tree had been hollow and it made sense that it
was cut down.  But why Dad's tree?  Why was it taken down?

* * * * * * * * * *
Just a few days ago, a senseless tragedy struck in Aurora, Co.
Many lives were lost and many more were wounded by a gunman
who opened fire in a movie theater.  This tragedy has changed
so many lives forever.  It has an effect on all of us.  We wonder
how safe any of us are when we go out in public or even in our own homes.  
This kind of tragedy makes us acutely aware of the 
fact that our lives can be changed in an instant.  It's said that nothing stays 
the same forever.  But there is One who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  
Know that He is always with us, even in the midst of tragedy.  
He will never leave us.  
 My thoughts and prayers are for the families of the victims of this shooting,
 for the wounded and for the family of the shooter.

Until next time... 

Friday, July 20, 2012

It's Friday


My zinnias are now blooming in the garden in spite of the heat 
and drought and because I water almost daily.  I'm beginning
 to get weary of dragging water hoses around and wonder 
if it's all worth it.  The water bill will be enormous.  How 
about those of you in the dry areas of the country.  Are you
 still watering or giving it up?

 
This big turtle stopped by the house this week to get a drink of water before moseying on down to the pond.  This summer has been so hot and dry that I feel sorry for
all the animals.  We did get a few tenths of an inch of rain Wednesday night.  I didn't mind being woken up in the wee hours by the sound of thunder.  It sounded good!


I've been watering the veggie garden as well as the
flowers.  We have gathered a few tomatoes although they
are small this year.  The cherry tomatoes are doing well.
How does your garden grow?  


The squash and zucchini are still blooming, but I've only picked a couple.  They weren't very good and the lone cucumber I've picked was bitter.  Like me.  Yes, I have to confess that I've been a bit out of sorts with this crummy weather.  Sorry.  I can't say that every day is a smiley-face day.  Well, okay, most days are good.  My aunt and I braved the heat yesterday and went to our Big City and ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Then we stopped at our favorite resale shop.  We had a great visit.  It was a good day and it looks like it will be a nice weekend.  What are your plans for the weekend?  I hope whatever you plan, it will put a big smile on your face!

Until next time...

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

It's Notecard Party Time


I'm sharing some of my bird photos for this month's
Notecard Party at Vee's.


I love all my little feathered friends.


The Bluebird is my favorite of all.

 
Many others, including the Goldfinch, come in a close
second to the Bluebird.  

 I have several more photos of other birds that I like
on the other computer, but I'll have to follow the
rules and stop with 4.  Are you a bird-watcher, too?

To see more Notecards, visit A Haven for Vee.

 Until next time...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Tuesday's Barn Charm


As you can see, this is a fairly new barn.  I think the 
owner only has 1 horse and that is all that it's used
for at this point in time, as far as I can tell.
Pretty fancy digs for that lucky horse!


The barn has siding to match the house.  It's a pretty
little farm and I've driven by it several times.
This was taken a couple of weeks ago and I wish I could get a 
better angle on the barn, but there isn't anywhere to
stop unless I pull in the driveway.  I just may do
that one of these days!

To see some great barns around the country,
check out Tricia's Barn Charm.

Until next time...

Monday, July 16, 2012

Monday's This and That


I've just devoured a whole bag of Orville 
Redenyouknowwho's gourmet popping corn as I 
pondered what to write in this post tonight.  Yes, it's
 Sunday night as I write this and I will schedule 
it to post after midnight. 

A sip of iced tea and I'm ready to roll... 

I read that today (Sunday) was National Ice Cream Day.  
Wish I'd read that before I ate the whole bag of popcorn because
 I would have eaten a low-calorie ice cream bar instead 
to celebrate.  Did you have your favorite ice cream today?


  Harrison Ford has turned 70 since I last was here.
If that doesn't make you feel older, then I don't know what
will.  I have to confess to having had a little bitty crush on
 Han Solo and Indiana Jones.  Did you know that Harrison
was just 34 when he first played Han Solo?  Heh, I must have
been a baby!  I enjoyed many of his movies like Witness,
Patriot Games, Air Force One, Sabrina, to name a few.
Do you have a favorite Harrison Ford movie?


Our weekend was pretty uneventful.  We did go to an Open 
House in a larger nearby town.  We toured a beautiful home
that is for sale.  It was all I could do to not shout "We'll take it"!
But it would be smart to get our home sold before we buy
anything else.  And there's much to do yet to get it ready.  The
shingles will be put on in cooler weather and the bathroom
will be finished in cooler weather.  Who knows when that
will be?  Temps will be back in the 100's this week.  It was
fun to see a house in another town and ponder the possibilities,
though.  We have to decide where we want to live after
Hub's retirement.  It's not an easy decision.

The above photo is my son's.  He is having more fun this
weekend than we are.  This was sent from sunny Florida
where he is enjoying a long weekend.  Nice of him to
think of us.  :)  How was your weekend?  Did you get
to go somewhere interesting?  

Until next time...

Friday, July 13, 2012

Masked Bandits and Door Bells


Last weekend, we had a pair of masked visitors
in our front yard.  


You never know who will show up at our
house.  


 At least these unexpected visitors weren't going to
be invited in, so I didn't care that the house 
hadn't been cleaned yet.


Isn't he cute?  When my kids were young we took
in an abandoned baby raccoon and kept him
for a while.  We gave him a really original name,
"Bandit".  He didn't get to stay long as he was
too much work and wasn't the friendliest of pets. 
 
Speaking of visitors...how do you feel about people
that just show up at your door without warning?   
  An older friend of ours, who
has been gone now for several years, used to 
drop in just to say hello and see how we were.  We
loved that friend and he is missed.  
Most friends will call before coming by, but 
occasionally we'll get the unexpected visit or one
that doesn't give us much advance notice.
Ideally the house will be clean enough not to be
embarrassed.  But!
There are those days when it is not really 
presentable and I just might not answer the doorbell!
Those that have indoor pets may know what I mean.
How about you?  Do you always answer when the
doorbell rings?

Until next time...

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Wednesday's Agenda


I'm going to brave the heat and go to the city
today.  I'm looking for window treatments.
Again.
This has been on my to-do list longer 
than I care to say.  Just call me a
procrastinator.
It's a must for downstairs.  I took the old curtains
down because of fading and cat hair/scratches
and the sun really beams in the window in the
 morning without a covering and it heats
up the room too much.


I'd really like to just buy an old-fashioned roller shade.
Remember those?
A heavy vinyl one that comes in a wide size.
Something I can replace often when if the cats tear it.
But, I don't think they make them anymore.
At least in the size I need.  


The size is awkward for shades or blinds, so I will
 look again for room darkening panels.


I wish I'd had my camera close by tonight.
Peanut, the newest kitten, decided to shinny up
my drapes in the living room.  It was a 
funny sight and I had to laugh.  I must
be mellowing in my old middle age.   She
had such a look on her fuzzy face after she
climbed so high.  It was a "how do I get down
without falling or making a fool out of myself" look.


I am also in the market for new drapes as you
might imagine.  But, I've decided the smart 
thing to do is to wait until (a) we find a home for
Peanut or (b) she outgrows climbing drapes!

What's on your agenda today?  And, if you are a cat
owner, what kind of window treatments do you
have that are kitty-proof?  I'd love to know!

Until next time...

Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday's Musings and a Barn


Thanks to all who suggested names for our
newest kitten...the foundling.  We haven't
decided on a permanent name as yet.
We have been calling her Peanut since her
arrival.


Did having a holiday in the middle of the
week throw anyone else besides me off
the last several days?  Things have been a bit
off-kilter for me, I can't seem to keep track
of the days or time.  Maybe the heat
is getting to me.  How that happened when
I'm staying inside as much as possible with the 
a/c running full blast, I don't know!  :)


Some clouds moved in and teased us with the possibility of  
 rain.  We got only a few drops.  It has cooled off from
105 degrees to the low 90's.  I'm happy for those who
did get the rain, it is very much needed right now. 


My barn for this week's Barn Charm is standing in a 
corn field and was taken late in the day last week.
  
For viewing some fantastic barns around
the country, be sure to visit Tricia's Barn Charm.

 
 Until next time...








 





















Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Fourth of July!!


Happy Birthday, America!!

Freedom's natal day is here.
Fire the guns and shout for freedom,
See the flag above unfurled!
Hail the stars and stripes forever,
Dearest flag in all the world.
~Florence A. Jones

Comments closed...have a wonderful day! 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Barn Charm in Missouri


I love to see barns that are being taken
care of and used.  This barn is in Cooper
County in mid-Missouri.


 To see other beautiful barns across the country,
check out Tricia's Barn Charm.
Until next time...

Monday, July 2, 2012

Name the kitty


She doesn't look too concerned about the matter, 
I know, but this little kitten needs a name.


For those who may be first time readers here,
this big kitty is Stormy. 
The little kitten and Stormy have similar stories
as to how they came to live with us.
The new kitten's 
story can be found here.
 

This photo is not the best, but you can
see that she is a little cutie.  She's
very sweet and playful and, much to our
surprise, gets along pretty well with 
Stormy...who doesn't like just anyone.


  Can you think of a fitting name for
this fiesty little female bundle of fur?  

Until next time...