A Little Friday Dialogue

~American Goldfinch~

"Hey, Tweetie!  Do you think that woman with the camera will ever move us into first place?  You know, she's always saying that Bluebirds are her favorite bird."

~Female Goldfinch~

"Don't talk with your mouth full!  I heard her say just the other day that we were probably in second place.  I think we should at least be tied for first because we sit still longer for her to get a shot.  Oh, well.  As long as she keeps this feeder filled, I won't complain.  So, hurry up and let's finish eating and go sky-tripping." 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time...

This 'N That And A Yummy Recipe

Happy Thursday to you! 

The big topic of conversation in my area is still the weather.

Will the river get out...will the rain ever end...how is your garden...etc.

I will NOT get depressed over the rain....I WILL NOT...I remember 

all too well the drought of last summer.  However, I'm a wee bit depressed because my garden looks bad and I can't do anything about it.  On the positive side, I haven't had to water my many

flower pots for days.  However, some of my flowers in the pots look waterlogged.  The above photos were taken over a week ago before the rains started.

 Isn't this a neat photo?  I wish I could say that it was mine, but

my son took this shot on a trip out west recently.  I wish I were on 

my way out west to a sunnier and drier location right now!  

My Knockout Roses are knocking themselves out this year.

They are all just gorgeous and full of blooms.  I love this rose,  

they are so easy to grow and take care of!  

Coming soon...more rose photos.  :)

Okay, before I share the recipe, I have to ask....do you wash your chicken before you cook it?  Well, I always have.  But, now they are saying that it may not be a good idea!  Here's a link to the article I read this morning:  http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/washing-chicken--do-i-really-have-to-do-that--162045546.html

And now for that recipe....

 Chicken Bombs

5 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts                        

5 jalapeño peppers
20 strips of bacon
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated colby jack or cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:
1.) Slice chicken breasts in half WIDTH wise (Each half will make 1 Chicken Bomb). Place between two pieces of wax paper and pound to 1/4 inch thickness or you can use a rolling pin to flatten.  Season each with salt and pepper.
2.) Slice jalapeños in half LENGTH wise and remove seeds, ribs, and the stem.
3.) In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the grated colby jack.
4.) Fill each jalapeño half with about 1 Tbs or more of the cheese mixture.
5.) Place 1 cheese filled jalapeño half at the end of each flattened breast piece and roll up.
6.) Wrap each breast piece with 2 slices of bacon and tuck the ends of the bacon under the strips.
7.) Preheat grill to 350 degrees.  Cook over indirect heat for 20-25 minutes; turning every 4-5 minutes.  Baste chicken with BBQ sauce each time you turn it, giving it one final basting right before it's done.  Chicken is ready when it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees.

Makes 10 Chicken Bombs

To Bake:  Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, basting with BBQ sauce a few times during cooking.  Baste once again when finished, and place under broil setting for a few minutes so bacon can crisp completely. 

My son made this dish for us this past weekend.  He had seen this recipe on Facebook and thought it sounded good.  We washed the chicken breasts first! Thanks, Brett, for introducing us to this delicious recipe.  My daughter said that it was her new favorite chicken recipe.  I will say again that it was scrumptious!!   Try it....you'll like it!

Note:  We made this recipe using just 4 chicken breasts and a pound of bacon.   I only had a couple of jalapeno peppers, so just half the breasts were made with them.  Put a dollop of the cheese mixture on the chicken and roll up and finish like the others.  Tasty! 

Until next time....

Wordless Wednesday

 Until next time...

Barn Charm

It's time for Barn Charm!  As most of you probably have gathered by my blog name, I grew up on a farm so barns are very special to me.  But, you don't have to have lived on a farm to appreciate them, as I know many of you do.  Red barns are a favorite of mine.  This pretty barn was taken in Pennsylvania by my blogging friend, Terry.

This barn was also taken by Terry in Iowa.  She saw where I had said that my barn photos were almost all gone and that I needed to get out and find some.  So, she emailed me and enclosed these beautiful barns for me to use.  Aren't blogging friends just the best?  Thanks so much, Terry!  I also have a few more to show another time.

It might be a while before I can travel the back roads around here searching for barns.  We've had so much rain over the holiday weekend that the gravel roads might not be too much fun to drive on.  Not to mention some of the local creeks are spilling over as I write this.  

My family was all together this weekend and we made the best of the rainy and stormy weather.  We did enjoy a pretty day Saturday until the rains started in the afternoon and really didn't end until late Monday afternoon.  

I hope your holiday weekend was a good one...rain or shine!

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm
 
Until next time...

Memorial Day

"I'm proud to be an American

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died

and gave that right to me."

           ~Lee Greenwood

Note:  I know the flag is supposed to be shown with the stars on the observer's left, but I can never seem to capture it in the proper position.

I hope you are having a nice day as we remember those who have given their all for us.  Our Sunday started out as a beautiful, sunny day but ended with heavy rain.  As of this writing just after midnight, we've had more than 4 inches and it is raining hard again.  Let us hope it is a better, drier day tomorrow!   

We visited the cemeteries Saturday and they were looking very pretty with many beautiful flowers and flags.  The custom in our area is to decorate the graves of our loved ones who've gone before us as well as those who served in the military.

Until next time...

Flowers...Birthday...Kittens

It's Friday!  There are several photos I was going to post today, but something else very interesting turned up at my house so my plans have changed a bit.  I'll get to that shortly.
  

The above photo is just part of my garden by the side of the house where mostly Knockout Roses and Salvia are planted.  We just planted these last spring and they are so lush and full and blooming like crazy!  I love these roses because I really don't have to do much except a little watering and I did trim them back a bit in the winter.  They are almost crowding out the salvia.
  

Our lovely, sweet daughter is having a birthday this weekend.  I just want to say Happy Birthday, Kim! 
  

Kim was in a wreck a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully wasn't seriously injured.  A man came flying around a curve too fast, braked, and then fishtailed into the back end of her car.  I took her to ER to be checked out as she said her back was hurting.  She was found to be okay, just shaken up and the doctor said the muscles in her back would hurt even more for a few days.  All is well now, but she's still awaiting getting her car repaired.
  

I don't think she'll mind if I share some good news and that is she has a new man in her life and is so happy now.  He is a good guy she has known for a long time and they are having a lot of fun together.  It makes us happy to see her so happy!
  

Look what showed up behind our house today!  Just what we need...more kitties!  Haha!  Aren't they adorable??  I have already told hubby that the calico kitten in the center of this photo was a keeper.  I have promised to try to find homes for the rest of them.  There are 5 in all.  And, you should know, more photos are on the way as I can get them taken!  These little furbabies are very skittish.
   

We did manage to scoop this one up.  Look at that face!  She was scared to death and shaking like a leaf.
   

This is Mama Kitty, who also is the mother of Sissy and Truman.  She is a frequent visitor to our house, especially after she's had kittens!  We don't know where she has the kittens or where she came from, but she comes around often enough to know that she can find a free meal here and a place in our storage shed to sleep.

Have a safe and wonderful weekend!

Until next time...

Wordless Wednesday

Oh, could I put some quotes with this one! 

Barn Charm

This photo was taken on our way to Branson the first weekend of May in which we saw our first snow in May...ever!   I thought the barn looked fairly new, but the cupola certainly doesn't!   

I almost sat out this week's Barn Charm.  The news coming from Oklahoma just breaks my heart.  So much devastation. 

We had storms here in my area that produced a lot of rain and a little bit of hail.  We were under a tornado watch for quite a while and under a severe thunderstorm warning for about a half hour.  It rained so hard that the yard in back looked like a lake at one point.  My newly planted garden looks sad.  The end where I planted my flower seed had what looked like a river flowing over it, so I imagine all the seed has been washed away.  But, I won't complain, it could have been so much worse.  I hope you are all okay, too. 

To see many other barns, go to Barn Charm

Until next time...

And The Winner Is.....

There is some sort of problem with Blogger as I try to do this post.  

I keep getting a popup saying that I have logged out elsewhere and do I want to log in again?   I have no idea what's going on.  Here's hoping I can get this post done quickly and I can announce the winner of my giveaway before it shuts down.  

And a happy Monday morning to you!  

     

First, I'd like to say that I wish I had something for each of you who entered my drawing, for I think each one of my blogging friends is a winner.  Over 30 of you entered my little drawing and I typed up all the names and placed them in my red bowl.  Just when I finished, my hubby walked into the kitchen looking for something to snack on.  So I asked him, before he could reach into the cookie jar, to reach into my red bowl and draw a name!   So, without further ado, the winner is........

Susan, congratulations!  If you would just email me your mailing address,  I will get your win mailed to you!  You can reach me at  justablogger(at)yahoo(dot)com.

  

Many of my blogging friends already know Susan, but if you don't, be sure to stop by The Adventure of Old Alice  and say hello.  Susan has a great blog and often shares some wonderful photos of her beautiful state that she's snapped while hiking with her dog, Tiah.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and special thanks for helping me

celebrate 500 posts!

Until next time...

A Fun Friday...and a Giveaway

It's a beautiful day!  Hope your day is starting off bright and cheery like this little yellow flower.  I'm taking my aunt to lunch today.  It's been a busy week and I'm ready for some fun and relaxation.  We got our garden planted and I finished planting my flower pots yesterday.  I think I have close to 40 pots.  Do you think I overdid it?  Well, you can't have too many flowers, I say.  Although, when the summer heats up and I'm trying to keep up with the watering I might think otherwise!  I also have my perennials and I plant flowers in the garden, too.  What can I say...I love flowers!  So, do you have all your flowers planted yet?  

Today is the last day to let me know if you want to be included in the drawing for my giveaway.  The photo on the left shows whats included in the giveaway.  There's a little white pitcher, a gift card, crocheted dish cloth, a bar of soap made with goat's milk and olive oil scented with lavender that's delightful, a dip mix that is one of our favorites that I always stock up on when in Branson, and lastly a cookbook.  I'll have to tell on myself.  I bought this cookbook new and put it on the bookshelf.  Some time later, I was at a flea market and saw a cookbook identical to this one only it was a hardbound book.  I bought it not remembering I already had the other one.  

The winner of the drawing will be announced Monday.  Good luck!  And have a wonderful Friday and weekend, too!

Until next time... 

May Note Card Party

It's party time!  Time for Vee's Note Card Party which is on the third Wednesday of each month.  Can you believe we're that far into May already?  I sure can't.

I was looking through my posts, trying to find something that I hadn't

used before.  The photos I picked out seemed to have a certain

something in common.   

I'd never really gave it much thought before, but a lot of our favorite

places to visit have water in some form.  It may be a lake, park,

river or creek as shown in these 4 photos.

 

Thanks, Vee, for hosting this fun party!  To see some really 

wonderful photos made into note cards, just hop over to Vee's 

place at A Haven for Vee.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...  

 

 * * * *  * * * * * * * * 

Don't forget to let me know if you want to be entered in my drawing!

The deadline is the end of the day Friday.  I'll announce the winner

Monday.  To enter, you only need to be a follower, that's it!  

Barn Charm

This drive-by was taken last month.  I only have a very few barns left in my archives, so I need to do a little day-tripping and look for barns.  That will be fun!

I have a question.  I went to PhotoScape to sharpen this photo a bit and put on a frame, but when I saved the photo and went to get it for this post, I couldn't find it anywhere.  Anyone ever have this problem?  It was supposed to be saved in the original folder.  This is not the first time this has happened.  

Linking to  Barn Charm

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...  

Monday Musings

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know by now that my favorite bird is the Bluebird.  I just had to show you this little cutie with his feather's all windblown.  I have so many photos to share that it was hard to choose just a few for this special post.  This just happens to be my 500th post!  

  

My photos aren't always the sharpest they could be because I often shoot out of my kitchen window.  You know when you're trying to capture a bird, timing is everything.  If you aren't quick, they're definitely not going to wait around for you!  

The Blue Heron is a frequent visitor at our pond.  I really had to zoom in to capture him from my window!  Birds of all kinds are one of my favorite subjects to shoot.  

When I was thinking of names way back when for my blog, I thought I might name it From My Kitchen Window or something like that, but in the end I went with The Farmer's Daughter.  I told how I came about that name in this post.    

Furry critters are another favorite subject.  And, of course, my kitties are right at the top of my Favorites list.  We lost one of our sweet furbabies recently and I did a post about it here.   It's still a sad subject for us.

 

I love sunsets and I'm always watching the skies to see if I should drive out to the lake for a photo op.  My hubby and I picked up some fast food the other evening and headed to the lake to eat our supper and I got a few shots of the sunset that evening that are pictured here.

 

   

These are just a few of my favorite things to capture with my camera...there are many.  I started this blog as a sort of online journal of my memories and musings and I think that is what it still is, for the most part.  I don't do posts every day, so it's taken me awhile to reach the 500 mark.  Not being a very wordy person, I'm really quite shocked that I've done this many!   

To show my appreciation to my blogging friends who have been reading my blog, I'm having a giveaway.  I mentioned it last week in this post.  If you would like to have your name in the drawing, just let me know in a comment by Friday.  The only other stipulation for being included in the drawing is that you must be a Follower.  

I hope you had a nice weekend.  I certainly did as I was treated to dinner by my 2 wonderful children.  Now a new week has begun and it's time for me to get busy.  I still have a few flowers...which is another favorite photo op...to plant!  

Until next time...  

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!

Wishing each of you a very happy day!  

Until next time...

Comments closed.  Enjoy your day!  

Flowers, A Giveaway, Etc.

Yesterday was another beautiful spring day with the bluest sky and fluffy white clouds overhead.  The air was perfumed with the scent of lilacs.

Our lilacs aren't blooming as well as usual this year, but they survived the drought so I'm happy with what I have. 

I got a few flowers planted and spray painted some old pots that were looking a bit tired, kind of like me without my makeup lately.  The paint really made them look better, if only makeup would work such wonders!  I've been dealing with vertigo lately and bending over aggravates the situation, so I'm slow getting some things done.  Looking up doesn't help either, but I just had to stop a few times and admire the clouds and watch the jets streaking overhead.  I wonder where this one is headed?

You just knew I'd have to zoom in, didn't you?  I love to see the different airliners. 

Our little dwarf apple trees we planted last year are blooming.  We kept them watered all through the drought, so they are doing fine.  I think I counted all of 12-14 blooms on this little tree.  Hubby says we should have planted semi-dwarf trees.  To tell the truth, I don't want too many apples.  We used to have a lot of apple trees and I made apple pies and froze them and canned apple pie filling.  I don't want to do that again.  

I still always plant the tried and true geraniums every year.  I also bought flowers such as African Daisies, Petunias, the Supertunias, Marigolds and others.  I plant a lot of the Sweet Potato vine, it looks so good trailing out of a pot and is very hardy.  I'm needing a few more flowers to fill all the newly spruced up pots, so I'll be shopping again.  What is your favorite flower to grow in pots?  

My 500th post is fast approaching.  Most of you have long reached that number, but I don't post every day so it's taken me a while to  reach it.  It's still hard to believe that I've done that many.  

The blogging community is a terrific group of people and I've enjoyed getting to know you through your posts and wonderful photos.  So, to celebrate the big 500 and to show my appreciation for your support of my little blog, I am doing a giveaway and the drawing will be next week.

I picked up a couple of things while we were in Branson over the weekend, there will be a gift card and some other goodies.  I won't have any strict rules other than you must be a follower....I think that is only fair....and tell me in a comment that you would like to be in the drawing.  I will post photos of the giveaway items and announce the time of the drawing next week!  You can let me know anytime between now and the cutoff date I'll announce next week if you would like to enter! 

Until next time...

Barn Charm

While not in the best of shape, this old barn looked like it was still being used from what I could see.  It is just off a gravel road about 10 miles or so from my house.  Even though needing some TLC, this barn has a lot more charm than the metal buildings being built these days.

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...   

Snow in May!

See the photo above?  Not exactly the scenery we hoped to see on our little weekend trip to Branson on Friday.  This was a first for me....snow in May!  If we hadn't already made our reservations, I daresay we might have cancelled.  Not only did we see snow, we saw quite a bit of light rain.  And very chilly temperatures. 

We decided to go to Silver Dollar City Saturday morning.  It was the last weekend for the World Fest.  We walked around the park a while and ate lunch, watched a group from Ecuador play their instruments, which was very good, and also stopped in at the old cabin to listen to the Homestead Pickers.  However, around 1:30 we decided the rain and cold was too much for us, so we left and headed downtown to look around.  We also stopped in at the Hard Luck Diner for one of their old fashioned sodas and listened to the singing waiters/waitresses.  

We were back in our hotel pretty early.  And let me tell you, their pillow top mattresses were soooo soft that I got really comfy very quickly!  I started reading a new cookbook I bought that looked interesting at Mulberry Mill....doesn't everyone love to read cookbooks?....and hubby tuned in to a basketball game.  We both were soon sound asleep and when we woke up, it was too late to go out to dinner!  Luckily I had packed a few snacks to tide us over.

Sunday, we had breakfast and headed home.  We stopped at an antique/flea market along the way.  I didn't see anything that I couldn't live without, so we were soon on the road again.  I'd like to say we had a great time, but with the weather so crummy, it would be a stretch to call it "great".  I hardly ever took my camera out of the bag.  Hope your weekend was better than mine!  

Until next time...