Thursday, June 29, 2017

A June Birthday



I'm continually amazed at how fast the years fly by.  
It seems like just a short time ago I was writing 
about my daughter's 40th birthday.  Now 5 years have
gone by and it's time to celebrate our dear son's 
birthday...the big 4-0.


What can I tell you about this son I love so much?
  
He's kind and has a good heart.
He is thoughtful, caring and loving.
 He's smart, handsome and funny.
I even like the practical jokes he loves to play.  :)
He's hard-working and dedicated to his job.`
 He's quick to smile and give a hug.
I love when he is cutting up and imitating Elvis.

So many things I could tell about this wonderful son 
of mine.  I thank God every day for him and for 
our daughter.

Happy Birthday, Brett!!

 We love you so much!
 

And Happy Thursday, friends!
xo Cheryl

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Beetles and Etc.


This is turning into a busy week.  Another trip to the Big Town was taken yesterday to the computer repair shop.  Hopefully a new monitor will arrive in a couple of days.  

While in town, I did some birthday shopping for our son and found myself a new summery purse which I really needed.  Shopping for men and for purses are probably high on my list of things I least like to shop for. 

What do you get a man who has what they need and the things they might want just doesn't fit your pocketbook?  lol!  

As for looking for a purse for myself, it's easier to shop for my daughter.  She's easier to please than I am.  I find that most purses are either too big, too small, or the wrong color. 

  
Thanks to all of you who shared advice for hiding the cords hanging from our new wall-hung flat screen tv.  I went with Cheryl's, of Thinking About Home, advice to look at the link she gave me about the kit pictured above which I found yesterday at Home Depot.  Hopefully we'll be able to get it installed easily and soon.


Those nasty things above that are eating up our peaches on our trees and on the knockout roses are called Japanese beetles.  They are a menace.  I found some information online here that hopefully will help to get rid of them.

They say the best method is handpicking and dropping them in a bucket of soapy water.  Ugh.  A comment from someone said they sprayed hydrogen peroxide on them and they fell dead to the ground.  I tried that a couple of times and nothing happened.  Maybe they used a stronger grade.  The next thing we'll try is spraying them with soapy water.  If you know a good way to get rid of these critters, please let me know.  


Our weather has been delightful the past few days.  Our neighbor just down the road came the other day and mowed our pasture.  He gets the hay bales which don't amount to a lot and you can see one of them in the above photo.  Such a nice guy and we don't even ask him to do it, but we really appreciate that he shows up every year with his tractor and equipment.  

Okay, back to doing the laundry.  
 
Happy Tuesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Friday, June 23, 2017

A CATastrophe

~I didn't do it~

I left off my last post with a promise to tell what happened with the cat and the tv.
  
One evening as we were eating a late dinner, we heard an enormous crash coming from the living room.  We got up and hurried in to see what had happened.  Our tv was on the floor face down and a kitty with the tail fluffed out was sitting there looking guilty.  So we at first thought.  As it turned out, it was a flying insect that the cat was watching and trying to nab.  So that explained how the tv got to be knocked off the entertainment center and onto the floor.

Upon sitting the television upright we saw the big cracks but plugged it in to see if it was still working and turned it on to find nothing but lines appearing on the screen.

So, it was 2 big purchases that needed to be made recently as I've also had to replace my dying old laptop.  

The new television is a little larger than our other one and this time it got mounted on the wall.  Our son did that chore for us while he was here Father's Day weekend.  


Now I have a new dilemma and that is how to hide the 3 cords that hang down the wall.  Of course, they would have to be hanging from 3 different spots and not where I could put all three in something to hide them or drill one hole in the wall behind the tv. 

If you have any suggestions please let me know.  The only thing I can think of is several picture frames.  


The laptop was bought at the computer repair center.  It is one year old and had been restored by the tech geeks.  I've taken it back twice now and may have to take it in again.  The screen fades to light with wide stripes appearing.  When I move the screen/lid it will go back to normal.  They couldn't find a cause for all of this but said they would order a new monitor if it kept happening.  

This computer has Windows 10 and that is a bit of a challenge.  Also, they transferred all my files over to this computer and I'm having trouble with the pictures.  Seems when I click on a folder, I don't see any photos.  I'm sure there's a fix, but I haven't found it yet.   


Weather-wise it's been very hot but after a little rain this morning it's supposed to be cooler this weekend.  I bought a few new flowers to replace those that have died while I was at the Big Town to pick up the laptop yesterday.  Home Depot and Lowes still have lots of beautiful flowers left.  

Have a nice weekend. 

Happy Friday to you!
xo Cheryl

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Catching Up


Hello!  Anyone still out there?  I don't blame you if you've given up on me.  I didn't mean to be away so long.  Time flies when you're busy having fun, as they say.   

Not every day is fun, of course.  Far from it.  Especially if you see the news.  Too many disturbing things are going on in the US and the world today.  And that's all I'll say about that, at this time.

Also, too many friends are going through various struggles right now.

My little woes are small in comparison and I'm grateful for each day that I get to crawl out of bed, however slowly, and can eat and see and walk and talk.  Simple things that we too often take for granted.  


I've been keeping busy watering the flowers each day trying to keep them thriving in spite of the heat and humidity.  Some small pots of verbena have to be replaced.  They never really looked all that healthy after they were first planted.  


BG and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary last week.  And they said it wouldn't last!  Actually it was his brother who said he'd give us 5 years.  Fooled him!  😁  (look at those sideburns and I had the teased hair going.  lol!)


We had planned to meet our son at the Halfway Diner on Father's Day.  (for new readers, he lives in KC and we live 2 hours away.)  I was puttering around Saturday and BG was napping, which turned out to be a good thing.  I heard the doorbell ring.

I opened the door and our son stood there grinning.  I had talked to him earlier on the phone and he said he was out running errands.  ha!  He brought meat to grill and lots of other goodies to eat so we didn't have to cook on Sunday.  

That night a storm blew through our area and most of the state, too.  BG got called to work at 2 am as there were a number of power outages and didn't get home until noon Sunday.  Thankfully, our power in town stayed on.  

We had a late breakfast and then BG got in a long nap before Brett grilled just before dark.  It was a nice weekend in spite of the weather and work, but there was one little mishap involving a cat and the TV.  I'll tell about that next time. 

Happy Wednesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Beautiful June


"I wonder what it would be like to live in a 
world where is is always June."
~L. M. Montgomery

If, according to Gladys Taber, May is a magical month then so, too, is June.  It is a beautiful time of year and makes me think of that song from the musical, Carousel...June Is Busting Out All Over.  

The flowers are growing by leaps and bounds.   At least those in the pots are, the newly planted perennials have just begun to look more alert.  Three of the four Salvia that I transplanted are doing well.  Not sure the other one is going to make it.

The skies have been beautiful with white fluffy clouds lately.  I love days like this and it makes me want to hop in the car and take a drive.   


I love all the different colors of flowers from the pale pinks to the vibrant purples and yellows.  

There used to be a woman who lived in this town that would only plant white flowers.  She lived in a white house, drove a white car and wore white clothing.

I love white and one of my favorite shirts is mostly white, but I need more color in my life than just white.  I'd definitely be bored to death with nothing but white flowers.  But to each his own, as they say.


This is also a special month for many as a lot of weddings take place in June.  BG and I were married in June.  Our son has a special birthday coming later this month.  A lot of special days are celebrated this month.

When I was a youngster, school always ended in May and June was the beginning of summer vacation for me.  Three whole glorious months!  I loved summers on the farm.  

There were no tech games or devices in those days and we had to make do with swimming in ponds instead of swimming pools.  We had horses to ride and woods to walk in and roller skates that clipped on our shoes to zoom around the basement when the weather didn't allow outside play.  

Of course, we had chores to do when we were old enough.  I remember bribing my little brother with the promise of a nickel or dime...which would buy a candy bar or soda back in those days!...if he would dry the dishes as I washed them.  

Most times, ornery me wouldn't pay up but he never said a word and would fall for my bribe all over again next time.  ☺  Well, maybe not every time! 


I could reminisce for hours.  It's fun to revisit the past once in awhile, isn't it?  At least, the good times...sweet memories.

I try to put unpleasant memories...and most of us have at least a few...in a box and only open that box on occasion when I want to examine something.  It's not that I'm hiding from them, but those days or moments are in the past and reliving sad or unhappy times is just not that helpful, in my opinion. 

Our sunsets have been gorgeous this spring.  The sun has moved over to the right and isn't setting directly in front of our house as it does in the fall. 

The windows in the kitchen and dining area faced west in the house on the farm I grew up in, and I remember watching many sunsets from them.  

It was where I began my lifelong love affair with sunsets and nature and skies with fluffy white clouds.   

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of this month of June, too!

Happy Wednesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Thursday, June 1, 2017

The Weekend and Happy June!


We went to the cemeteries over the weekend to decorate the graves of our loved ones.  The maple tree above was one my dad had planted after my mother was buried in this cemetery nearly 40 years ago.  I remember how small the tree was when it was first planted. 


Our son had just gotten back Friday night from a week's work in California, so he didn't get a very early start home on Saturday.  A big storm was just ahead of him and he followed it out of KC most of the way home.  I was on the computer watching radar and weather warnings.  He had to pull off at 3 different exits to wait until the weather lightened up before going further.  

We got some rain and a little wind here, but nothing like other parts of the state had.  A flash flood in Branson caused the deaths of 2 people and 1 was missing.  I've never heard if they were found.  So tragic.  They were visiting Branson from Nashville, TN.


This photo is one my son snapped today as he was driving back to KC from Wichita.  We learned later that there was a tornado warning in the area and this cloud certainly looks ominous.  Brett said that he was listening to the news on the radio and they didn't say there was anything severe to worry about and thankfully he made it back to the metro area just fine.  

Storms with severe weather and possible tornadoes are something we hear forecast all too frequently here in MO in the spring and summer.  I'm happy we have a basement to go to.  


We went to our daughter's house on Saturday evening for a light supper and card games.  It was just the 4 of us and her friend, Mike. 

Kim's house and flowers are looking so nice.  She found the little Radio cart in the above photo at a flea market.  This was taken a couple of weeks ago and the flowers are much fuller now.



The little table is one I had and didn't use, so she spray painted it and placed it between the garage sale wicker chairs I found for $20.  BG and I like to sit in those chairs when we are visiting and sitting on the deck.


I've been having fun bird watching and trying to get a good shot of the blue birds.  Still haven't seen many goldfinches lately but we have plenty of other birds to watch.


We also have a few feral cats to watch that roam around our neighborhood.  I think I've shown these two before and they just crack me up.  They are both males but are practically joined at the hip.   We'll put out some food for them and I'll see them come running up the path that goes to the pond and they are almost touching as they run together.  They are great buddies and stay together.

We grilled a couple of times over the long weekend.  Brett grilled a pork loin and hamburgers to make sliders and also pork steaks.  We had plenty of sides along with corn on the cob.  Yes, we ate good!  

I started this week off with a day spent just resting and then I had to have my car back at the dealership yesterday to look at my a/c.  It quit again and they had told me that they couldn't figure out what was going on when it was cooling, so off I went for my 9:30 appointment.  Four hours later, I got the word that they still couldn't figure it out because the a/c came on as they drove it into the shop.  Grrr!!

I was so aggravated that I forgot half of what I needed at WalMart before heading home.  Of course it was one of those days where I forgot to make a list.  

The good news is that I got half-way through a book while I waited at the dealership.  I have missed reading.  

I apologize for not getting by to visit as often as I'd like.  It's been such a busy time and at the end of the day I find myself falling asleep over my laptop.  

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl