Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime...

 The redhead really does have legs.  (see below)

Is it really fair to play "Memory" with a grandpa?  (What game are we playing again?)

Just chillaxin'

Until the menacing katydid sets off blood-curdling screams!

This is how Jacob spends most of his day...

...watching cartoons and eating peaches.  Lots of peaches.  Which may explain the big dump he took in the Lowe's men's room.  Although he assured us, "it didn't smell like peaches."


Occasionally Papa convinces him to help out with the chores.

And rewards him with a rubber band gun.

GI Joes and empty water bottles don't have a chance.  Needless to say, Stella has found refuge under my bed.

Just Peachy!

Porter peaches are in!

And I'm here to tell ya,

PW's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce is every bit as good as it looks.

Conversations with Lauren

A few of the conversations we had today.

Swimming from the edge of the pool to me:
Lauren:  (to herself, with a determined expression on her face) "Just keep your eye...on the boobies."



Lauren:  Nana, how old are you? 35?
Me: Nope.
Lauren:  43?
Me: Nope.
Lauren:  56?
Me: That's right.
Lauren:  How old is Papa?  72?
:)

Lauren:  Who's your dad?
Me:  Grandpa Smith.
Lauren:  No way!

Lauren:  Who had you?  Whose tummy were you in?
Me:  Grandma Smith's.
Lauren:  And you have two sisters.
Me:  Right.  What are their names?
Lauren:  I don't know the puppy-haired one but the straight-haired one is Linda.
Me:  *Laughing uncontrollably* The puppy-haired one?
Lauren:  No, the FLUFFY-haired one.
Lauren:  But you don't live with them.
Me:  Well, we lived together when we were kids, but then we grew up and left home.
Lauren:  Aw Nana! :(  That's not very nice.
Me:  When you grow up, you'll move away from home.
Lauren:  No I won't.

Lauren:  When I grow up, I'm gonna have Grandma Smith in my tummy.

Lauren in the pool, me in the lounge chair:
Lauren:  I have braces.
Me:  You do?
Lauren:  Yeah, but they're invisible and I can't take them out.  See?
Me:  Oh really?
Lauren:  Yeah, they're gonna make my teeth straight.

Of course, she probably had perfect teeth when she was a mermaid.

Done!

Another household catastrophe has been averted.

Discovery of the leaking toilet and resulting rotted floor a little over a month ago was not welcome news.  Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) we've sunk a lot of moo-lah into this money pit.

But thankfully, our insurance covered it and we've ended up with a beautiful new guest bath.

Before:

Not only was the toilet not sealed, but the bathtub drain connected to....

well....nothing.  So a little additional plumbing was in order.

Oh, and the sheet rock was ruined, so we had to take it down to the studs.

The big surprise was that there was actually insulation in those walls.  A farm house miracle.

Since we'd gone this far, I decided it was a great opportunity to add a shower.  Which entailed taking out the window to install a tub-surround.  Anyone need a perfectly good double-hung window?  It's in the tack room, in the barn.  Help yourself.

Oh yeah, and the vanity was so rotted that it fell apart when they removed it.  Lowe's is gonna love me.

The contractor hinted that if I ever thought about getting rid of the popcorn ceiling, this would be the perfect time.  I really did hate that popcorn ceiling.

Little did I know just how much work that would be. (four hours) But totally worth it.

After:

He only had to float 3 coats of mud on the ceiling to cover my less-than-perfect attempt at scraping. 

Guess I could've removed the trash can and straightened the towel for the photo shoot.

Look!  A shower head!  My out-of-town guests will be so happy that they're not limited to baths (or sharing my shower).

Hopefully no more major projects for the next couple of years.  I'm exhausted.

Memorial Weekend

I spent last weekend in Corpus Christi.  'Cause Oklahoma is just not quite hot and muggy enough yet.  And that's where my husband is. Corpus Christi, that is.  Home to some of the finest seafood dining.  It's my personal goal to find the best seafood restaurants in the country.  

Saturday night at George's ranked in the top 10.  It used to be Two George's, but after it burned down a couple of years ago, it reopened as George's.  Long story.  But the point is, the fried colossal shrimp and blackened snapper were superb. 

Neal & I recently did an assessment to find out what our "Love Language" is.  Not that we really care, but it was an assignment for our Sunday School Class.  I was kind of surprised that his was "Quality Time."  I would've guessed something else........aaaaanyway.

Sunday afternoon we spent some Quality Time.  Fishing.  Together.

Sort of.

Apparently, me being within earshot counts for quality time.

And of course, I was there to document the big catch.  Quality.

That night we went to dinner with friends at the Water Street Oyster Bar and Seafood Co. Where I ordered (surprise!!) Rib Eye, medium rare --- with a side of stuffed, bacon-wrapped shrimp.  It was a most excellent dinner.  And then our dining companion mentioned he's the same age as my son.  Thanks Mitch....'preciatecha.

Monday, my sweet husband, still on a quest for quality time, went antiquing with me.  And I found this

which I shall dry brush paint white, or maybe not.  We'll see.  It's not really antique, but it'll make a cute towel holder in my NEW BATHROOM.  Which is almost done!  

And now I'm rambling.  It's past my bedtime.

3 Firsts

Saturday, I changed the oil in my lawn tractor.  (Yeah, I'm the one with the dirty fingernails.)

Sunday, I watched the eclipse through a welding hood. 

Sunday night I scraped the "popcorn" off my bathroom ceiling.

I am woman.  Hear me roar.

U-Turn Fern

Okay.  I'm just layin' it out there.  The days of keeping my middle name hush-hush are over.  Lita Fern.  Yep.  Lita Fern.  Laugh loud and hard.  It's been a long time coming, but I am no longer embarrassed by my middle name.  I mean...if someone's gonna name their kid "Apple" or "Brick" and the masses think it's cute, then I can hold my head high.

Whew!  What a relief.  Never mind that Todd & Lisa have been calling us Herb and Fern for years.  No one else got it.

So that leads up to my adventure in Texas last Saturday.  I love my GPS, but it may be time to update the maps.  All I wanted to do was find a good Flea Market.  Is that too difficult?  Apparently so.  After driving all over Houston, through traffic, construction, tolls, residential neighborhoods and constant "re-calculating" I finally arrived at a huge Flea Market with a mile-long waiting line to enter the parking lot.  And of course, once in the parking lot, I somehow got into the wrong lane and found myself EXITING.  So, after paying $3.50 in tolls, $1.00 to park and no telling how much in gas.  I left.  Thus, Neal's new nickname for me--U-Turn Fern.

Sunday it rained.  So what do you do in the Bayou City when it rains?  You go to a Cajun Fest.

Where you eat 2 pounds of crawfish.

and where one of your awesome friends from Baton Rouge is playing keyboard in the band...

...at Traders Village.  Did ya get that?  Traders Village--the largest Flea Market in the Houston metroplex.

Awesome.

Let's Make a Deal

Remember Let's Make a Deal?  Remember how at the end, Monty Hall would offer money to women in the audience for certain unusual items in purses?  I know.  I'm really dating myself.

Anyway.  Lauren would do well on that show.

Contents of the purse I had to borrow back from her today:

business cards
notebook (very large notebook--it's a big purse!)
Bible
Starbucks card
keys
sunglasses
memory verse cards
coaster?
swimmie diaper? (could be a winner)
and....FOUR...count 'em...FOUR...cell phones...Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and Mattel--'cause you never know when you're gonna need a back-up

Unsolicited Endorsement

Looking for a cell phone with long battery life?

Look no further.

Bought this flip phone in 2008.  Then upgraded to a new phone on November 22, 2010. Stuck this one away in drawer as a backup.  

Lauren decided to use it today and....

Voilà!

That's right.  Fully charged battery after 16 months.  Oh, and it looks like I have an alarm set.  Wonder what important appointment I missed in 2010.

BFF

In case you weren't sure...Janet is my bff/bestie/best friend.

To wit:

Jamaica 2006

 Cruise Ship 2006

Cozumel 2006

(Rest assured, our husbands DID go along for the ride.)

 Monterrey, Mexico 2008

(after a long, hot day of construction, I might add.)

Santa Monica, Mexico 2009

 Paris, France 2011

 Verviers, Belgium 2011

Swiss Alps 2011

So is it any wonder that when our friends (yes, we have other friends) saw these salt & pepper shakers they immediately thought of us?

Contrary to popular belief, we are not joined at the hip.

We are joined at the elbow.

And this, folks, is what happens when we're separated.....

I tell you--this girl cannot be left alone.

Wildfires

I'm absolutely THRILLED about the mild winter we had.  What I'm not so thrilled about are the consequences.

This years' tick population will be astronomical.  As if it wasn't already.  Did you know that it takes at least 30 straight days of below freezing weather to kill a tick?  Those suckers are stout!

Today it's 72 degrees, dry, and windy.  Which means a lot of homes are threatened by the raging wildfires.

That haze in the distance is smoke, people.

So far, my house is not in danger.  But if it was...no great loss.  Just give me time to grab my camera and my chocolate covered almonds, and I'm good.

Osage County smells like smoke.  Which reminds me, we didn't have one fire in the fireplace this winter.  Not one! (Not complaining.)

But I do wish we'd get rain soon.  I have a brush pile calling my name.

Good thing Neal covered it with a tarp so it would stay dry. :-)

Have Camera -- Will Travel

36 hours 'til Texas

75 days 'til Cancun

22 weeks 'til Canada

6-1/2 months 'til Italy

I'm thinking I need new luggage.

Another Cat Post

Stella is the only one in my family that hasn't told me not to blog about her.  And let's face it, she's getting as sick of it as your are.

So let's just say I have a friend....who has a cat....

...who has this same scuffle with the bathroom rug EVERY morning...

Duh.  Winning.

The High Price of Having No Mice

Yes, Mom, I'm a poet AND I know it.

It's a first.  First Fall/Winter since our move to the country that we have not had mice move in for the winter.  But it has come at a price.

I share the feelings of a friend who recently said, "I love kittens, but cats...not so much." I've decided I'm not really a cat person.  But I prefer a cat in the house to a mouse in the house.

Besides the vet bills, cat food, kitty litter and flea control, there are even greater, more sacrificial costs.

First, there's my upholstered pieces of furniture that have become scratching posts.  Is it cruel to have her de-clawed?  Wouldn't that mean she could never go outside?

There's the constant battle with cat hair.

Have you ever tried to crochet with a cat around?  Chasing the yarn ball is NOT, I repeat NOT cute.

Worse yet, is the 4:40 a.m. wake-up call.  Can a person NEVER sleep in???  She doesn't really NEED anything.  Doesn't want to go outside.  Plenty of food and water in the bowl.  Just thinks it's time for me to give her some attention.  I thought cats were anti-social.  Not Stella.

However....

Having no mice.....is nice.

Call the Waaambulance

Yesterday I cried.

Twice.

The first was a good long cry.  Neal was patiently demonstrating to me how to attach chains to my tires, just in case I need them this winter.  I understood the procedure.  I just couldn't do it.  My arthritic hands are just too weak.  It makes me feel helpless.  Poor...pitiful...me.

So when I quit my blubbering, I went in the house and pulled out the last of the cinnamon roll dough.  I may not be able to install tire chains, but I KNOW I can make cinnamon rolls.  At least I thought I could.  After smearing the dough with butter and dumping on the suger, I started sprinkling the cinnamon.  But it didn't look right.  That's because it wasn't cinnamon.  It was chili powder.

Hence....the second outburst of the day.

Neal is keeping his distance.

Celebrating with Friends

December 30th marked 35 years of marriage.  And we're still smiling.

Has it always been easy?  Um, no.  

I would venture to say we're now at that dreaded epic milestone that we can start giving marital advice.  So for those of you still struggling in the early stages of marriage, listen up.

#1.  Love God.  That's it.  Love God.  I could probably stop here, as that pretty much sums up the entirety of life...marriage being just one small fraction.

#2.  Be committed.  And I don't mean to an asylum.  Although at times, you'll feel you need the break.

#3.  Find (and be) good friends.

Here are ours.

And though you may think it odd that we choose to celebrate our anniversaries with each other, rather than a romantic evening alone, we think it makes perfect sense.