July 31, 2013

July 31 Photo of the Day
Workspace

Yes, I know it would be hard to do any work on this desk!

July 31 Slice of Life
Been a very slow day here on the Ponderosa!

July 30, 2013

July 30 Photo of the Day
Friendship

These girls are my good friends and traveling buddies! We are all close to the same age and we have been on many adventures together. We all attend the same church and this photo was made at VBS while we were helping with crafts.  They are the kind of friends you can call anytime for any reason. I am extremely blessed to have them and to know that I can always depend on them.


July 30 Slice of Life
We are spending the day at the hospital. The hubby is having some out-patient surgery for a hernia. If you have ever spent any time here you know there is real time and hospital time. They ask you to be here at a certain time and two hours later you are still waiting for them to be ready.  The people who work here live in a world without hurry. They know everything will eventually get done. So if you are going to spent anytime here you better develop some patience and learn to function on "hospital" time!
We were back at home by 3:00 P.M. and all is well.

July 29, 2013

July 29 Photo of the Day
Perspective

 

Perspective--Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!

July 29 Slice of Life

A couple of old friends appeared at our door unexpectedly tonight.  We had a great time talking and laughing together! It's the kind of company that never gets old! 

July 28, 2013

July 28 Photo of the Day
This is New!

 This is a new crop for us.  The Ponderosa Stinkbugs love all types of vegetables so we tried growing some purple hull peas.  It takes a water bucket overflowing to have this many peas when you finish shelling.  Your finger tips get a little purple, but cook and serve these little rascals with some cornbread and they are worth all the work.

July 28 Slice of Life
Frosted Flakes for breakfast
Some Ironing
Church
Sunday Lunch at Subway
Stop at Silver Bell Antiques to help unpack the truck load of items we dropped off yesterday
Dollar Store stop for supplies and important things like ice cream + chatting with friends who are shopping too
Pick, shell and freeze peas
To Visitor House to pack some things and hang some things
Supper and kitchen cleanup
Back to Visitor House to get items I forgot
Washer and dryer working as I type
After some laundry folding, thinking of calling it a day

July 27, 2013

July 27 Photo of the Day
Black + White

The prompt says Black plus White but it made me think of Black and White the only type of photos we had in the olden days!  Here's a few from the past of my brother and me!

And one of my parents

School pictures were black and white so now I will never remember what color my dress was!

Black and White is still used by photographers today, just for effect, I guess sometimes all you need to know is just right there in black and white!

July 26, 2013

July 26 Photo of the Day
The Everyday

This is a place I go almost everyday!  Yes, the weeds and grass are trying to take over, all the crazy rain is aiding and abetting them!

July 26 Slice of Life
You can accomplish much if you get an early start.  We had to get up early and go wait for an hour and a half for Peanut to have a 20 minute medical procedure, which had good results.  We had a late breakfast on the drive home and then we have picked, broke and froze beans.  I have washed more "old stuff" to take to the antique store.  We are anticipating a good week because of all the treasure hunters headed to the World's Largest Yard Sale on Highway 127.  There was also some laundry and ironing and cooking and yard mowing going on.  Who says retired people have nothing to do.

 Some of the treasures we are taking to sell!

 I bought these bulbs on sale this spring and planted elephant ears and caladiums everywhere.  They are about the only thing I have been able to grow this summer.

July 25, 2013

July 25 Photo of the Day
Ground

 

I was sitting on the ground this morning when I made this photo of Princess Brynn running around marking on things with her sidewalk chalk.  She was using the spongy thing in her left hand to wipe it off if she marked on something like your face or shoes!

July 25 Slice of Life
This morning I had to be at the dentist's office by 8:00 for an appointment made 6 months ago.  Brooks and Brynn were visiting and up and ready for the day.  I do not normally go anywhere while they are here so they were a little curious about what I was doing.  I got showered and dressed and walked out of the bedroom into the hall where Brynn was playing.  She looked me over with a critical eye and then looked down at my feet and said, "nice shoes."  It's good to get the okay from the two year old fashion police!

July 24, 2013

July 24 Photo of the Day
 D is for . . .

This calf says D is for delicious!  I love some corn shucks! 

July 24 Slice of Life

Had a good day having some fun with these Ponderosa Visitors and a fantastic meal with the family at my Mom and Dad's house.

 

My mom's butterfly bush was very busy today!  

July 23, 2013

July 23 Photo of the Day
I Drew That. . .

I can't draw a lick so I will have to use this photo.  I found this on a chalkboard over at the Visitor House after Parker had been here.  He made me have really long fingers.  Do you think it looks like me? It's sorta round in the middle like me!

July 23  Slice of Life
We spend half the day returning a sink to Lowes.  We are replacing one at the Visitor House, well we are hiring someone to replace it.  Maybe we got one we can use this time.  While there we also wanted to buy some paint.  Why are there so many choices and so many colors?  And why don't they look the same on the wall as on the paint chips?  And what type of paint do you pick. . . enamel?  flat? satin?  What do all these things mean?  Construction stuff makes me nervous!

July 22, 2013

July 22 Photo of the Day
Grey
I would spell it Gray

My Macbook Pro is Grey/Gray.  I love it!  You might argue that it is silver, but I say gray.  I use it everyday!

July 22 Slice of Life
Our neighbors stopped by and reported the Turkey Mama missing in action tonight.  We went to check this out and found that all but one of her eggs had hatched!  I am so glad!  Hopefully we will see them all around the neighborhood.

July 21, 2013

July 21 Photo of the Day
Fave Food

Our motto on the Ponderosa is What Can We Eat Next, so it would be hard to pick just one favorite food!  Tonight's supper does contain some that would be high on the list.  It's hard to beat mashed potatoes with any type of meal!

July 21 Slice of Life
Lazy rainy morning
Church--so much rain the way was flooded and had to turn around and take alternate route
Lunch--at Subway
Checked on Turkey Mama after lunch, poor thing was soaked but still sitting
Lazy rainy Afternoon
Supper
Visit with parents
Catching up on some reading

July 20, 2013

July 20 Photo of the Day
Hot

I have a gas stove.  It cooks with an open flame and gets hot!  The grate that holds the pot over the flame is made of cast iron and very hard to clean if you spill food on it or let it boil over!  I have never been able to clean them until this week!

 The grate on the left shows how all four had greasy, yucky buildup.  The one on the right has been cleaned.  Here's what you do.  Place the grate in a ziplock bag and pour 3-4 tablespoons of ammonia in the bag.  Seal and leave for about 12 hours.  Let chemistry do the work.  I put the bag outside on or in something like a bucket in case of leaking.  Much of the mess will fall off in the bag.  When it is ready pour off the ammonia (in a spot that will not kill a plant or where a pet might ingest it) and rinse.  I used the water hose and it knocked off anything left on the grate. 

It looked shiny and new and no fingernails were destroyed with a scouring pad that didn't help anyway!

July 20  Slice of Life
We had another cornpalooza on the Ponderosa today and froze 100 more ears! It took all morning.

 

Then we spent a few hours working at the Visitor House.

We checked on the Turkey Mama on the way, but she was gone.  The nest with 8 eggs was left unguarded.  We were afraid she had deserted, but on the way home, there she sat.

 Our tomatoes and beans may not look too good this year, but we have grown some giant eggplants and squash.

 

And the purple hulled peas are turning purple, so soon we will have to have a pea picking!

 

July 19, 2013

July 19 Photo of the Day
Building

This bag of building blocks is one of the toys that reside in my living room.  If Brooks were here he would unzip it and pour it into the floor.  Then he would walk through them and kick them everywhere!  If you will sit and build with him he loves to knock over your tower.  These blocks are soft and they don't hurt when all this demolition happens!  Many structures have been created with these building blocks and a little imagination.

July 19  Slice of Life
We got out early this morning and fought the weeds and grass in the garden.  Sometimes we laugh about how just buying produce would be easier and cheaper.  Gardeners spent money on plants/seeds and chemicals to keep the insects from eating those plants and electric fences and gas for the tiller and fertilizer.  There is also hours of work involved.  But it is rewarding when you can walk out your back door and gather your whole meal.  Like tonight we had squash, green beans, potatoes and corn fresh from the Ponderosa garden.
* The Turkey Mama I talked about earlier this week is still sitting on her nest on the side of the road.  We drive right up and look at her and she sits perfectly still as if she can't see us.  I do hope her eggs hatch soon and she can find a place to hide.

July 18, 2013

July 18 Photo of the Day
Number

62--the number of ears in this pile

July 18  Slice of Life

I spent most of today filling the freezer with corn and beans cause we love green beans and the Ponderosa Stinkbugs love corn!

July 17, 2013

July 17 Photo of the Day
Inspiring

The heat and humidity inspired us to spend the afternoon at the movie where it was much cooler!

July 17 Slice of Life
A couple of weeks ago while eating at Subway of Byrdstown, I noticed a big cut out advertisement for a new Disney movie, the Lone Ranger.  The ad featured Johnny Depp playing Tonto. I got a little upset because Johnny Depp's Tonto had a bird on his head and a painted face. He looked nothing like the Tonto I remembered from the TV series of my youth.
One of the perks of being old is that movie tickets are cheap any time you go, so today we decided to check out this new Lone Ranger movie. When I was a youngster the Lone Ranger was a hero and I didn't know what to expect from this new version.  I don't want to give anything away but it turns out he's still a hero, he still has a horse named Silver and Johnny Depp makes a great Tonto. 
So, Ke-mo sah-bee, even though the reviews are not great, I say go see it and ask for the Senior discount!

July 16, 2013

July 16 Photo of the Day
Bottle

 

If you were outside today you needed this type of bottle to replenish all the water lost from your body!  I needed one when I was in the garden trying to rescue my lima beans from the weeds and grass with a hoe.

July 16 Slice of Life

We began the morning with corn, more corn on the cob and creamed corn went in the freezer this morning.  Then it was off to his tax office for Peanut and to the garden for me.  We did a few more chores at the Visitor House, but the hot muggy air caused us to find air conditioning about mid afternoon.

Turkey Story

One day last week the county workers cut the grass along the road to the Visitor House.  She lost her cover but this Mama Turkey has stayed on her nest.  If we pass by in a vehicle or on the farm cart she just sits there never deserting her eggs. 

 Some photos from the Visitor House yard this afternoon:

July 15, 2013

July 15 Photo of the Day
Outside my window

 

This is right outside my kitchen window.  If we eat a meal on the deck we can just open the window and hand out the dishes and food! And if little ones are around their play area is just in sight!

July 15 Slice of Life

More work today at the Visitor House.  The kitchen, the hall and the big bathroom are now sparkly clean and ready for visitors.  Here's picture proof.

July 14, 2013

July 14 Photo of the Day
Edible

Squash blossoms I have seen recipes for them but have never tried to cook them nor have I eaten them from any restaurant's menu.

July 14 Slice of Life
*Unless we are out of town we always attend church service on Sunday mornings.  This morning our preacher had pink hair.  It was the result of a challenge from last week's bible school. It's hard for me to take a minister with pink hair seriously!  He did have a good sermon about living a blameless life from Psalms 101.  As I had a bible open to this passage, I also read over Psalm 100 and especially verse five:
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations.
That's a promise that should give us all great comfort.

*Visitor House update--the kitchen and dining area are now clean and livable.

* More rain today is not helping the Ponderosa garden.  We must get rid of some weeds this week or they are going to take over.  Last week we froze 150 ears of corn for the Ponderosa stinkbugs.  This week there will be more!  It's not a good year for gardening. Our beans look sad, and so do our tomatoes.  The okra grew up about a foot and stopped and most of the squash just died.  We bought red, yellow and green pepper plants, but they were all green!  Eggplants are large, but some type of snail looking bug loves to eat the leaves. There is some hope for a bumper crop of peas and lima beans, they are blooming profusely!

July 13, 2013

July 13 Photo of the Day
4:00 o'clock

 

At 4:00 o'clock it is raining, the sun is shining and I can hear some thunder as I am snapping this photo.  It's making for a lazy afternoon and threatening to spoil the steak dinner we were planning on grilling.

July 12, 2013

July 12 Photo of the Day
A Bad Habit

I have plenty of bad habits, but drinking this is one of my worst!

July 12  Slice of Life
Spent most of the day with these three popsicle eaters. They make any day a good one.

We left their house with a truck load of furniture for the Visitor House.  We took the long way home traveling on old Highway 70 back to Baxter and still made it home in time to unload and arrange the furniture before dark.