Taking pictures again...

Calendula (calendula arvensis - field marigold) and Baby's Breath (gypsophila elegans). I am trying to learn the latin names for the plants and flowers in my daily life, so work with me. The Calendula is unedited except for my watermark. The Baby's Breath is unedited except for cropping and my watermark.

These are growing in my MIL's backyard. We were there Saturday for my BIL's birthday party and I was bored, so I took pictures. Since I don't drink alcohol and don't smoke cigarettes (Myself and my two youngest sons are allergic to cigarette smoke and prolonged exposure will trigger our migraines), I couldn't sit on the back porch and relax. Something I really wanted to do on my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Taking pictures kept me from mouthing off at my BIL/SIL about their treatment of my MIL. Sometimes I really hate my Etiquette Button. It kicks on at the most inopportune times. *sigh* Yes, Grandma M., I played nice.

Anyway, I am going to put these two photos in the Fair Photography Contest this year. I think. Still not sure. All I DO know is that I have to get Little Pirate to take some pictures. Since he has discovered this extreme fascination with rocks (he's found some real nice ones, too!) maybe him taking some macro shots of them could be an idea. Of course, it will be done on a tripod so that my camera lens doesn't somehow end up in the middle of a rock pile! Lol!

Baby Beanie Cap

Well, I spent practically the whole day yesterday in my MIL's pool. It was wonderful! It was so hot and muggy that the pool was just what DH, the younger two boys, and I needed. My MIL had my 7 y/o niece, so she went into the pool with us. MIL can't get in when the sun is on the water because it blinds her, so it was great we were there during the heat of the day to give her a break.

My hands started itching when I got home. I needed to make something! So, out came my crochet hooks and I started surfing the web. YouTube is great for learning new stitches when you don't want to bother your mom! Lol! So, now, I know how to do Half Double Crochet and Triple Crochet. Doesn't sound like much but to a person that is still new and pretty much self-taught, this is fabulous!

Anyway, I made that Baby Beanie Cap I was talking about. I added a ruffle on the edge to soften the look and help it match the blanket. I also made a ruffled pansy to attach to it but DH said it was too much "stuff", so I have dropped it in my things for a later use.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. I miss you.

One of my cousins is having her first baby! I decided that I would make her something instead of just buying a gift. This pattern is from Lion Brand Yarn in their free pattern section. It is almost identical to the dishcloth pattern I use. The blanket itself is almost 4 ft. across with some give. I crocheted a ruffle border around the edge after I finished binding off the last five stitches. That's the first time I did a ruffle and I think it looks nice.

The yarn is Peaches & Creme worsted weight cotton. The Peppercorn Umber shade. I used just a little more than one cone (just over 688 yds). When I went looking for yarn to use, I kept coming back to the cotton cones that I normally picked up for my market bags and dishcloths. The acrylics just didn't appeal to me. In all honesty, cotton is better since it is an organic material and does not traditionally irritate the skin. So, cotton it is!

I found a really cute pattern for a crocheted baby beanie cap and am hoping to make it to accompany the blanket but I am not promising anything. After hurrying to get this done in a week, my fingers are telling me many stories of what they CAN'T do right now. Lol! It was fun, though. I plan on making more and selling them at the craft show I will be attending this fall with my aunt and mother. Haven't settled on a price yet but DH and I are discussing my options.

WV Birthday - June 20 - 146 years old

My two youngest sons ran around our community with my mom and grandparents. They explored a local historical home complete with archeological dig, Fostoria Glass Museum, The Mound Museum, and the former WV State Penitentiary. They had a blast! My 10 y/o took this photo from the top of the Mound.

Nature's Wrath

Last evening was an adventure I would rather not repeat.

Following VBS, we exited the church to find the skies north of us dark and ominous, while those to the south looked like the perfect spring/summer evening, dotted with pink cotton candy clouds. Then enters the tornado warning. We live in WV, people!!! I left Louisiana YEARS AGO, happy to be away from such things!!!

I race the storm home, drop my mom at her house and head to mine. Then...nothing. At least for an hour or so, anyway.

The lightning started about 9:30pm and, hoping to create my own therapy to help get over my fear of severe storms, I stood outside and took some pictures. After loading them onto the computer, I realized that I needed to pick up my 18 y/o from work. DH and I both thought that the storm had blown by us. I got two minutes from the house and visibility turned to...well, let's just say that high beams, high wiper setting and 5mph still wasn't good. I arrived in the WalMart parking lot in time to watch grocery carts drive themselves in CIRCLES!!! In SIDEWAYS RAIN! Yeah, the good little southern girl in me is screaming "Cloud rotation! Cloud rotation! If it was daylight, it would be green outside!! GET OUT OF THE STUPID CAR!!!" (Yeah, she wasn't very nice...).

So, with half of my body soaking wet after running into the store, I have to wait for my son since he has to finish locking up. DH calls me, "I am packing the boys into the company car and heading to Mom's." So, Mr. Chef and I continue to wait for a lull, however small. The mad dash to the car ends up with both of us soaking wet. He calls his grandmother to let her know we are on our way. The normal 5 minute trip takes 15 minutes. There are rivers in the streets that I probably shouldn't have driven through but I did.

After being at my MIL's for about an hour, things have calmed down. The rain is almost done and coming straight down, now. We leave. About 1-1/2 miles from the house, there is a line of cars waiting on emergency personnel to let them pass. A power line is down. And the have had to forcibly evacuate to neighborhoods just passed the elementary school near my grandparents' home. DH and I told them where we were going and they told us we would be fine. It's beyond us that it was still really bad.

DH and I discover that we have standing water behind our home. The creek looks like a raging river. There is mud everywhere.

But my kids are safe and happy, having gotten to sleep in their own beds last night.

This morning my mother calls to check on me and tells me that my aunt and uncle are in the living room. Uncle had to call 911 last night because the storm ripped the power line OFF their house!! The power company tech came out and couldn't work on it last night due to the storms continued activity and the the fireman, when asked how things looked in town, told Uncle that he really didn't want to know. Things were that bad.

So, today we will all assess the damages and be thankful to God for the life we have. Sometimes, it takes a good rumble to make us realize that things don't matter...people do. Blessed be God.

And today...

...I burned up the motor in my grandpap's weed trimmer! Lol!

A little information about this weed trimmer...it's OLD! Pap said he has been looking for an excuse to get a new one, anyway! He and Grandma got a good laugh about it while they were teasing me for burning up a yard tool. Hopefully, I won't burn up the next one. For now, I will just take mine.

The last two weeks...

It has been quite an adventure that last few weeks. My 18 y/o graduated from high school (thank you, God, for that intervention miracle!), my oldest came home for about 30 minutes - he lives about 2 hours away - which was just long enough to pack his newly graduated brother into his car with a week's worth of clothes and a computer for a mini-vacation before we send him to college in July, and my DH and I have been working on our yard and garden.

Once I take some worthwhile pictures of the whole garden experience, I will post them. For now, I am just enjoying the fact that my patio is currently home to a gas grill and a patio seating set and THAT'S ALL! Lol!

I leave you with a lovely Pink Alyssum. Along with petunias in purple, pink and white, I have a multitude of pink, purple and easter Alyssum. Then there are the Hostas in the front beds...

Yeah, that green thumb I thought I didn't have is sure working nicely. God is good.