What I did on my summer vacation by KimmeeSue

more guests

We had a delightful time with D. yesterday. It was a brief visit, but we are so grateful he took the time and went out of his way to see us. He also brought us some 'products'. Christmas in May!

Today's guest is pictured above. Mom and Dad left this morning to visit family in NC. Kimmee is stuck with us for the next few days. First order of business - a walk. Then a bath. I'm not sure which one of us got wetter. She is not fond of baths. KimmeeSue is now on the back porch drying. When I peer out the door to check on her, she looks up at me with doleful eyes. 'How could you, I thought we were friends,' she seems to say.

We have another visitor arriving tomorrow evening. K. is a college student. We have known her since she was a baby. She is working for Campus Crusade in Gatlinburg this summer. We pick her up from the airport Sunday night and take her to Gatlinburg on Monday. It will be great to see her!

I need to go make friends with a certain doggy again. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

guests

In a few hours, one of Pat's former guide clients turned friend will be stopping here. He is on his way south and will join us for some rhubarb muffins and a spot of tea.

It will be very good to see D. again. He and his co-worker and fishing buddy M. were always very generous with us. They worked for a company that produced cleaning products and twice a year brought us a five gallon bucket full of their wares.

Here is the recipe for the muffins:

2 1/2 C. flour (can be part whole wheat)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Combine thoroughly.

1 C. buttermilk/sour milk, or plain yogurt

3/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. oil

1 egg (beaten)

2 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix well. Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened.

1 1/2 C. rhubarb diced

Stir in. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full.

1/4 C. sugar

1 T. melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. flour

Combine and sprinkle on top of batter. Bake at 375* for 20 minutes.

jump down, turn around

We had one of these in our house this morning. That never happened up north. Impressively identified by the resident entomologist.

The boll weevil was a reminder of my fruitless quest yesterday. I spent the better part of the day clothes shopping. I never do that. The shopping gene is not part of my DNA.

But we have a wedding coming up. A beach wedding in Mexico. So I want something simple, sleeveless (Mexico in July - outside) with straight lines and in a natural fabric, either cotton (hence the timely reference to the boll weevil) or linen. One color.

Apparently such a garment does not exist. I found a plethora of dresses in bold colors, loud patterns and synthetic fabrics. This mother of the groom is not interested in any of those.

I shopped and shopped and shopped. Then I dropped.

I did get a new swimsuit (the spandex in my decrepitly old one quit on me - I guess there is a limit to how far spandex will last or stretch ~smile~). I love this new one though. Granny will be playing in the pool/ocean with Joshy.

So, I've shopped on line. Here and here and here. I am afraid I may have to go to Knoxville.

The quest for a dress is on. Any ideas for me?

Unless I try to make one....

so you can waste time on the internet like I did

Bored? Try this.

I typed in 'Southern Hills Ramblings' which yielded scores of possible anagrams including:
Ah slumbering hill snorts

Hmm.

A rearrangement of my first and last name yielded many possibilities many of which included the word 'leech'.

Repeatedly reading the word leech reminded me of many, many, many times, in years past ,when I would reach for the cottage cheese container in the refrigerator only to find that the label on the carton was not a true description of the contents. As a fishing guide Pat often fished with leeches and being the frugal sort would keep leftover leeches for another fishing expedition. Generally in a food container. Loved that.

Nowadays, he fishes with artificial lures which means I can reach into the fridge for cottage cheese and that is what I will get. Which is a good thing. I am sure you can cook something with leeches, but not anything I would want to eat.

beauty and bounty

It was a quiet weekend around here. Some yard work. Some house work. Some shopping.

The garden has more beautiful surprises every day and we have enjoyed eating from there every day. Our neighbor brought over an armful of rhubarb, which is now all cut up and in the freezer.

Off to take the car in for some (hopefully not expensive) repairs.

Memorial Day

photo courtesy of visitingdc.com

They sat in the second and third pews in the section left of center. I couldn't even look at them, for fear of losing my composure, as our quartet sang these words:

Blades of grass and pure white stones

Shelter those who've come and gone

Just below the emerald sod

Are boys who reached the arms of God.

Buried here with dignity

Endless rows for all to see

Freedom's seeds in sorrow sown

'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.

Blades of grass and pure white stones

Cover those who left their homes

To rest in fields here, side by side,

Lest we forget their sacrifice

Buried here with dignity

Endless rows for all to see

Freedom's seeds in sorrow sown,

'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.

words and music by Philip Naish, Orrin Hatch and Lowell Alexander

Three families from our county. All had sons killed in Iraq. They were invited guests to our church yesterday. We honored the memory of their sons as well as all those who had died serving our country.

There were not too many dry eyes in our congregation.

To some, it may have seemed unkind, even cruel to put them through another service of remembrance. But as one of the Gold Star mothers put it: "We are so afraid people will forget."

Let us never forget.

this morning's verses....

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and extol Him with music and song.

For the LORD is the great GOD,

the great King above all gods.

In His hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to Him.

The sea is His, for He made it,

and His Hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

for He is our GOD

and we are the people of His pasture,

the flock under His care.

Psalm 95:1-7

Schools are out down here, grills are firing up, long lines lead to the grocery check out, gas prices are up and the campgrounds are full.

As I read the above verses, my heart is full too. We have so much for which to be grateful.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

canned laughter

We had such a nice time at the food pantry yesterday. Nice folks to work with. A dozen of us spent a little over an hour, emptying, sorting and putting away a four foot cubed box full to the brim with canned goods.

Veggies, fruit, soups, baby formula, fish, you name it, we had it. Including a fair amount of Spam and some canned green bean casserole. We threw away the dented rusty can of salmon. If you are going to donate something to your food pantry, may I suggest fruit? We had lots and lots of green beans and pork and beans, but not so much fruit. There was a glass jar of gravy at the bottom of the box. Amazing it didn't break.

~~~~~

The truck was delayed two hours, which kinda messed up our plans for the rest of the day. I decided to dive in to a project I had been putting off for far too long. Three ankle length skirts were languishing in the back of my closet. I wanted to shorten them to just below the knee. All three had special hem treatments - a kick pleat; a bias three inch addition; a inverted pleat insert thingy (pretty sure that is the technical term).

I wanted to keep all the hems intact, so I cut off the waists of all three skirts, shortening them from the top. Make sense? It took a few hours, but I feel like I doubled my summer wardrobe.

For free.

~~~~~~

Pat is taking another vacation day today. Plans include the Amish market, some trout fishing and lawn mowing (I typed lawn mowning (moaning)- but that is not true - we both enjoy mowing). I've been known to pout if I don't get to do the mowing, but today I think I will have to share.

Have a great Friday!

optimistic

It is a beautiful day here in southeast Tennessee. The first thing I do when I get home from my walk these days, is throw open the windows and let the fresh air and the bird songs in (and the pollen and the dust and the noise of the cement truck down the road).

The day is full of possibilities and I have an impressive (mental) list of things I plan to accomplish today. Course I won't get half of them done, but not for lack of trying (or getting completely sidetracked by something else).

One of the things on the list today is working at the food pantry. We are expecting a shipment of 1600 pounds of canned goods from Second Harvest and somebody needs to put them away. I know we will be working with some nice people and it is always fun to get to know folks a little better.

Speaking of fun, a childhood memory just popped into my little brain. We lived in Omaha, on Franklin Street. The tradition, as long as we lived in that house, was to unload the grocery bags at the doorway to the kitchen and roll or slide the canned goods along the floor to a sibling who stood (or sat) at the ready to put them in the cupboard. Cheap entertainment. Of course, I am sure we never tried to hit our sibling with a canned good. But, accidents do happen. Teehee.

Whatever your work is today, try to make it fun. It will go much faster that way!

Off to see what 1600 pounds of canned goods looks like....

you know you are in trouble when....

.
...Dad and I are the neighborhood computer 'experts'.

A couple down the street stopped at our house day before yesterday to ask for computer help. Though Pat and I were both home at the time, neither one of us heard the doorbell (despite accusations to the contrary). Undeterred, they went on down to Mom and Dad's and were graciously invited in, though KimmeeSue attempted to herd them out. They did a little computer work on Dad's laptop.

Yesterday they asked Dad come help them with their continuing computer woes. Never one to refuse a neighbor help, he walked down to their house (sans Kimmee). He was gone quite a while, so Mom and I (and Kimmee) meandered down to see if we could assist. I have to say, Kimmee was absolutely no help at all. Guided by the monotone moderately helpful tech support guy the rest of us were able to make some progress.

Computers can be wonderful, but when things aren't working right they are might frustrating. Anyone else find this to be true?

Thanks for calling Tech Support

Thank you for calling Technical Support. All of our technicians are currently busy helping people even less competent than you, so please hold for the next available technician. The waiting time is now estimated at between fifteen minutes and eternity. In order to expedite your call, please punch your 63-digit product identification number onto your telephone touch pad, followed by your product serial number, which can be found in a secret compartment inside your computer where, for security purposes, is printed in the smallest typeface known to mankind.

Bible study

close up of Mom and Dad's rhododendron

Today is the last Bible study of our current series. Once again, I thoroughly enjoy getting together with other women to study God's Word. Even though I would prefer to meet in someone's home, the starkness of the Sunday school room tables and chairs is offset by the warmth of spirit of these lovely and gracious southern women.

After study we will go out to lunch at a cute little coffee shop. Through a red door, up a set of steep, old, creaky stairs; surrounded by brick walls partially covered with plaster - you enter a charming space decorated in shabby chic style (love that). The big screen television is on mute with the close caption feature functioning. It is usually set to HGTV, unless the owner's husband is there and then the History channel would be on. Decorating magazines are scattered about. You can sit on the big soft chintz covered sofa or sit at a table.

The tables and chairs are mismatched - painted wood furniture from a bygone era. It is very cozy and friendly. One of the ladies (the main barista) still remembers that Daniel was there many days during his Christmas break and ordered hot chocolate. She asks about him and will suffer through stories of his nasal polyps without gagging.

So, we will have a good study today and a nice lunch (quiche for me please). But I will miss having a weekly study.

I'm thinking seriously, though I have discussed this with no one, about becoming certified to lead Precepts for Life Bible studies. Their headquarters is in Chattanooga which is just a hop, skip and a rather large jump away from here. I should take advantage of the training while I am so close, shouldn't I?

Linda, this an embroidery project I finished recently. For Joshy, of course.

because I can't think of anything else to write about...

Saturday was a beautiful day. We were outside a good deal of the day and got a lot of yard work done.

Sunday it rained most of the day. We went to morning and evening church and otherwise stayed in, occupied with quiet activities. I have been working on some embroidery (which is taking forever). Did some baking. Reading.

Pretty uneventful. Quiet. I did sing my first solo (at this church anyway) yesterday. Not a whole song or anything. It was 26 measures long. Yes, I counted. In light of eternity not even a blip, but knowing it was short helped me. And thankfully (Thank you LORD), I remembered the words and didn't stress out and think about it being on the internet or the radio. My brain didn't fail me.

Yesterday, anyway. This morning I asked Mom and Dad when we were leaving for Dad's Dr. appointment. Blank stare. I thought Dad had a Dr.'s appointment in the big city. Nope. I even had it programmed into my cell phone calendar. What was that about?

I guess I'll have to figure out something else to do today. Wonder if the strawberries are done resting?

~~~~~~

Today's pictures were taken of some flowers down at the entrance to our subdivision. I don't know what they are. Can somebody help me?

Sing!

this little bi-colored rose can't make up its mind

The birds that frequent our yard include: flycatchers, meadowlarks, mourning doves, robins, martins, bluebirds, killdeers, hummingbirds...to name a few. This morning there were four Canadian geese sauntering down our road (I will spare you the blurry picture I took).

The air is full of song. And this morning I read:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song."

Psalm 28:7

I hope your weekend is filled with song!

misadventures

KimmeeSue - in good weather

Yesterday, B. (a friend from Bible study) went to pick strawberries. We decided to start at the place closest to home, even though, last year the flavor had not been great. We were hopeful that this year's plentiful rains the berries would be sweeter.

Before we left we called the berry patch. Closed. Letting the berries rest.

No problem, we knew of two other patches. Patch #2 is about 25 miles up the road. When we arrived we were greeted with a sign. "Closed today. Berries are resting." Who knew strawberries needed rest?

Patch #3 is off the beaten path. I thought I could find my way there, but there were no signs anywhere to direct us. We came to the conclusion that those berries must have needed rest too.

What to do? Head back home in defeat with nary a berry ?

Not us. Somehow, though we could not find a pickable berry, we managed to find a Starbucks and Hobby Lobby and salvaged the morning. We had a great time.

~~~~~~

Storm clouds were brewing yesterday evening, but Pat and I were confident that we had enough time to walk down to Mom and Dad's and back. We could hear rumbles of thunder in the distance. Once there, we discovered that KimmeeSue had already made her preparations for the storm. When there is thunder and lightning, she heads for the car.

She feels so much safer there and she is probably right. Don't you wonder how dogs think?

"Oh, that's thunder. Gotta get to the car."

She is so cute and funny. She stared me out the door this morning. Perhaps she held me responsible for the storm, but honestly, I had nothing to do with it.

On our walk, I remarked to Pat that I found it interesting that we had never lost power during a storm down here. On a clear, calm afternoon, yes, but never during a storm.

Well, guess what. Lost power last night. From nine to midnight. At midnight we were up, resetting clocks. Then the power went out again for about 10 minutes. Up again, resetting clocks.

All is well this morning. The early fog has lifted. Kimmee has emerged from the car. Clocks are not blinking.

But I still don't have any strawberries. Wonder if they have gotten enough rest?

the eyes have it

compare this rose bush with yesterday's picture - they keep coming and coming!

Choir is good for my brain. As I have mentioned before, our choir director requires that we memorize 'special' music numbers (for solos or small groups). Last night was my first run through with my little solo and my brain did not fail me. Thank you LORD!

I practiced for that small solo and then in a quartet and then in a piano duet.

The pianist and I (actually she is the organist but we are playing a piano duet. Together.) were discussing glasses. She normally wears bifocals, but has switched to using reading glasses for playing because her neck got tired of tilting back so she could see the music through the lower part of the lense.

I have gone from bifocals to reading glasses. But the reading glasses are not good for every application. For example when I am singing, they are fine for looking down at the music, but when I look up at the choir director he is a blur. I can look over the tops of them, but then they slide down and pinch my nose and make me sound nasally. I think I need to have two pairs of glasses.

During our quartet practice, we were discussing the difficulties of reading music with our various eye maladies. One near sighted, one far sighted, one with contacts, one with trifocals. Who should we have hold the music? Guess that is why our director wants us to memorize our songs!

When I had bifocals, I had a hard time leaving them on. Off and on, off and on. Where are they now? I have had glasses for several years now, you would think I would have this figured out by now.

Any solutions that work for you?

southern spring day

Days like yesterday and today fill my heart with joy. A good Bible study with ladies I am beginning to know better and better and appreciate more and more. A lovely sunny afternoon spent mowing.

This morning already hold promises of good things: clear skies, birds singing, freshly cut grass.

The plan, thus far, is to go to the farmer's market and then, since most of my outdoor chores are caught up (except for the weeding -- there is always weeding*), I plan (finally- since it is not raining) to go pick strawberries.

Choir practice tonight. Should be a fun day!

*"It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field..."
Genesis 3:18

bounty

"You care for the land and water it;

You enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

for so You have ordained it.

You drench its furrows

and level its ridges;

You soften it with showers

and bless its crops.

You crown the year with Your bounty,

and Your carts overflow with abundance.

The grasslands of the desert overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing.

Psalm 66:9-13

My, we have had a lot of rain down here recently. After two dry, very dry years, the rain is welcome. The soil is easy to work, the plants spring up seemingly overnight. I took the above picture a few weeks ago - we have already eaten most of the lettuce and all of the radishes from this particular garden. We have more to come though, since I have planted more every three weeks. I should be able to harvest some sugar snap peas later today.

And speaking of bounty, Mother's Day was wonderful. All the kids called and expressed their love. Makes my heart sing. Nathan, Daniel and Pat got me some beautiful perennials (pictures coming soon) and Jon, Kristi and Joshua sent me this:

My mother's day gift from Jon and Kristi and Josh came from here.

This is a highly recommended gift. The pail contained handmade soap, salve, and lip balm. Also, seeds, gardening gloves and a fingernail brush. And some herbal tea. All made/put together by my friend Cheri.

I love being a mom. I love my kids. I hope they always. always, always know that.

Honoring Mom

Isn't she adorable? She received clothes, jewelry, chocolates and flowers for her birthday. And her son and son-in-law (Roger and Pat) switched out her televisions for better viewing pleasure. We had a very nice weekend.

study in black and white

More Mother's day stuff tomorrow. Blogger is scheduling an outage in two minutes!

Happy Birthday today, Happy Mother's Day tomorrow, Mom!!!

Dad, (a much younger) Joshy and the BIRTHDAY GIRL!!

Dear Mom,

You have taught me so much...

...faith first - a deep abiding faith in God

...family - love and fierce loyalty

....friends - make 'em and keep 'em

....fun - always keep laughing and smiling

....beauty - appreciate the beauty around and create beauty at home

....adventure - always be willing to go where the Spirit leads

...adversity happens - you have taught us all how to handle it with grace and humor

You've taught me all this and so, so much more.

Have a wonderful happy weekend!

I love you!

sharing

I love irises, don't you? They are in full bloom across our area now, beckoning us to slow down to admire their elegance.

The above iris belongs to our neighbor. I asked for permission to take a picture, mentioning how much I love irises. She, of course, graciously granted permission and then told me that her irises had come from her hairdresser and would I like her to get some for me.

Would I???

I planted six beautiful plants last night and will look forward to their deep purple blooms next spring.

Our northwoods garden contained many plants that were gifts from friends. The tradition continues here in the hospitable south.

the good, the bad and the ugly

The good:

This beautiful clematis is planted by our neighbor's mailbox. We have planted two clematis vines that will (hopefully!) flower next spring with deep purple flowers.

The bad: Can you see the black widow spider? Click on the image to enlarge it. We found this spider in the rock wall outside our bedroom window.

The ugly:

Black widow spider doing what black widow spiders do. This was supper.

Now, we could FREAK OUT and moan and groan about having black widow spiders in residence (okay, maybe we did do that for a few minutes) or we could focus on what is beautiful and lovely around here.

Lots and lots of beautiful flowers to enjoy around here. We do need to be wary, though. I don't weed in the rocks first thing in the morning or in the evening. Black widow spiders are nocturnal. Thankfully, I am not.

I'll be out in the daylight, focusing on the beauty:

a year down the road

A year ago yesterday, we signed the papers for this house. Agreed to become residents of Tennessee. I looked back on my post from a year ago

and remembered all that happened during that whirlwind week. Phew. How did we manage all that?



We are quite settled in now. I look outside the window and see well-established flowers, shrubs, trees, gardens and lawns. Inside pictures are hung, boxes are unpacked, I work with ease now in my kitchen. It is easier to work in the garage too, thanks to Mom and Dad's shelves and workbench and Pat's hard work in getting things in order.



What a difference a year makes. This next year will bring a wedding in July, a graduation next May...Lord willing...beyond that we can't know. We rest in the knowledge and security of God's protection and provision and are thankful for all His good gifts.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

His love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1

with great pleasure....

....I'd like to announce some good news. We are welcoming a new member into our family!

I've known about this for a few months, but have been waiting for the right moment to share.

Nathan and Michelle are getting married!

We got to know Michelle last summer when she and Nathan came to visit us. Although it was our first meeting, (well really our second - the first one was brief and on our way down from WI to TN) she was so easy to have around. Like family!

We are so happy for them and so happy for all of us.

A few months ago, when I went to visit all the kids, I was able to watch Michelle hold her own against 'the brothers'. She teaches junior high school kids, so she can handle Nate's brothers with no problem. ~Grin.~

The wedding will be in July. In Mexico!! My passport arrived in the mail the other day. Joshua is applying for his passport this week.

Welcome to our wonderful, wacky family, Michelle!

(Blogger has been very uncooperative this morning and has not allowed me to post any pictures. Please scroll down on my sidebar to see a picture of Nathan and Michelle.)

food for thought

the roses beneath our bedroom window

There is now a probable case of swine flu in Knoxville. The middle school student and his family have been quarantined and his school is closed for the week. An overly cautious or a prudent reaction?

I don't intend to debate that here today, but I am praying for that family. Do they have enough food in the house to feed them all for a week? Do they have neighbors who are willing to pick up groceries for them? Apparently the student has recovered and is feeling fine now and did not attend school most of last week. Still, I am sure that people's response to this will range from nonchalance to panic.

Me? I tend not to worry much about anything, preferring instead to trust God for my well-being. Or for His care if my being is not so well. Worry is unproductive, but planning is prudent. Yes?

What would you do if you found yourself unable to get to the grocery store for a week or so? Would you have enough food to eat? We would be fine, because as you may know, when food goes on sale I buy quantities of it. That is more about saving money though, than about worrying about pandemics. Still, we have enough variety to keep menus interesting for a week or two and then enough spaghetti, or rice and beans to last until we are good and tired of them.

~~~~~

I have some good news to announce tomorrow. For now though, Mom, Dad and I are heading up to the big city for some routine lab work. Seems like we just did this a week ago. Oh, wait. We did!

downpour

Ahhh...rain. Heavy rain that will force us to stay indoors today. But there is plenty to do inside. This past week was beautiful and we had the windows open everyday. From the screen porch, living room and Pat's office the smell of lilacs was heavenly. And from our bedroom window the breezes carried in the subtle fragances of the roses. And lots of pollen. Must dust today.

Mom and Dad gave us some shelving for our garage, so that is another project we can tackle. Filling and organizing the shelves. We have almost lived here a year and we still have stuff in boxes on the garage floor. Not much - but it will be nice to get it onto shelves. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

~~~~~
After posting yesterday about Twitter, I laughed out loud when we received our weekly newspaper from up north. Joe Heller, a cartoonist for the Green Bay Press Gazette, captured exactly what I was thinking about Twitter.

The scene is an internet cafe. A young couple is at one table; an older couple at the next. The younger gal is texting, the younger man is typing away at his (Mac) laptop.

"I've got a blog, videos on youtube, a facebook and myspace page and with twitter I continually update everyone on what I'm doing!" says the young man.

"So, what are you doing?" asks the older lady.

"I just told you...." replies the young man.
~~~~~~

Hope you have a great weekend and find time to step away from the computer, the cell phone, the television.....

how tweet it is

basil beauty

We are getting a nice soaking rain right now. I only have a few minutes to post, because shortly Mom, Dad and I will be heading up to the big city for a routine Dr. appointment for Dad.

A quick question for y'all. I've been hearing more and more about Twitter lately. I think I have a general idea of what it is and was surprised to learn yesterday that the Center for Disease Control is sending out 'tweets' to update people about the swine flu pandemic.

My questions:

1) Have you heard of Twitter?

2) Do you use Twitter?

3) If so, has it enhanced your life? Do you recommend it?

Thanks for giving me your input! Have a wonderful day!