A Bit Of Laughter And Cheer, A Smile Or Two!

I've been away from home, away with my wee ones while Mom and Dad are vacationing.  They are have a marvelous time - and so are Mom and Dad.  The first week, the two older ones went to camp and it was just me and mini me.  Now it's the four of us, oh and three dogs.   Oh yes, three dogs!   That's a story in and of itself!  For another day!    Actually for another month!   When my mind is a bit fuzzier!

My dear friend sent this over to me to put some laughter in my day (and honestly some are hysterical, some so-so  but the entire thing is funny)  Plus some extras my Sweetie sent along. So, for those of you who need a bit of laughter and lots of smiles ~ here's a few to help you!  You all know how Blogger can be with spacing and all, I did what I could, think I got all of the duplicates out and do hope I bring you a laugh and a smile!

Have a wonderful Tuesday ~ 

Blessings, and hugs, 

Donna

PARAPROSDOKIANS...

(Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous. 1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it. 2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list. 3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright          until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong. 5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public. 6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.. 7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't. 9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research. 10. Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station. 11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks. 12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.' 13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you. 14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy. 15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman. 16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory. 17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. 18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with. 19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away. 20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure. 21. You're never too old to learn something stupid. 22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target. 23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. 25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. 26. Where there's a will, there are relatives. And mine is......... I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

  ·         I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way.   So I stole a bike and asked for       

            forgiveness.

   ·         Do not argue with an idiot.  He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. 

   ·         I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather.  Not screaming and yelling like the passengers 

             in his car.

   ·         The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.   

   ·         How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

   ·         Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very        

             edge of the pool and throw them fish.

    ·         A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don't need it.

    ·         I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with "Guess" on it, so I did, saying, "Implants?"

    ·         Some cause happiness wherever they go.  Others whenever they go.

    ·         I always take life with a grain of salt, plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

    ·         When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

    ·         Some people hear voices.  Some see invisible people.  Others have no imagination whatsoever.

    ·         A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.

    ·         If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?

    ·         Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the 

              paint is wet?

    ·         Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ?

    ·         A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

    ·         The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!

    ·         Always borrow money from a pessimist.  He won't expect it back.

    ·         A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.

    ·         Hospitality:  making your guests feel like they're at home, even if you wish they were.

    ·         Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

    ·         I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a 

              piece of seaweed touches my foot.

In The Kitchen With Wee One

Grandma's and granddaughters in the kitchen ~ is there anything better to hand down in a family but home made love from the kitchen?  I loved being with my Granny, and I love when my girls want to help!

While mom and dad are vacationing in Europe, we are with the children.  The two older children actually went off to camp this week, so Wee One and I have had a blast 'just hanging out' and having a great old time!

You all know one of my favorite things to do is creating in the kitchen, and I've shown you bits and pieces of our garden.  One of the kids, big and little kids, favorites is Grandma's special recipe of Zucchini Bread.  Here's the first bread sized zucchini from our garden!

This guy came in at 4 pounds 9.75 ounces!  And it made a total of 6 loaves of bread, 12 cups total of shredded zucchini!  And, this little gal helped with the entire process ~

Cleaning this guy up ~

Shredding ~

Stirring ~

Measuring the dry ingredients (yea, we got a little goofy!)

OK - we added the zucchini and dry ingredients - then got serious - "hey, Grandma, doesn't this look like zucchini puke?"  Yea, maybe we got a little goofier!

We stirred, stirred, stirred, never even complained once, not even spilling a drop on the floor, t-shirt, a girl after my own heart!

Then she looked at me very serious and said, "remember what the special ingredient is?"  'Yes, I do ~ do you?'  "Yep, stir in my love with my finger!"

I've always told the kids is my secret ingredient is love, by sticking my finger in and giving the recipe a good stir!   


6 yummy loaves of bread, with lots of love in them, and a great time in the kitchen!  Being a grandma is one of the most precious things God blessed me with ~ 5 wonderful grandchildren!

Blessings to all,
Donna

What A Difference A Few Days Make!!

Boy, we all prayed for some sunny, warm weather for so long, and then it happened!  A heat wave that started in the Eastern States and spread all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  For those of us with gardens, we are really happy because it makes everything grow so well.  At least certain plants, tomatoes, peppers, squash of every variety and so on.

Here are our winter squash, peas and beans in June a few weeks after we planted them.  We were so happy they had grown so well in just a couple of weeks, but unlike the middle of the country to the Atlantic Seaboard, we were only seeing occasional 'hot' days and remained in the 70's and 80's for the most part.

We planted 3 Butternut and 2 Spaghetti Squash plants, and in between the beans and peas. Yes, everyone has asked the same question - "Why so many plants?"  Well, because one year one plant gave us so much we had to give them to everyone we knew and the following two years, well one of them?  Not a squash to be found.  They would shrivel up and die before they could grow!  The following year, could not buy a Spaghetti Squash plant anywhere because the weather was cold too late in the season, and the Butternut Squash was barely enough to get through the winter, eating one squash every two weeks or so.

This year however, we will be giving them away once again!  We have literally hundreds of squash, both Spaghetti, already the size of footballs, and Butternut, which are growing a bit slower, thank goodness.  What we are afraid of now is the Spaghetti squash splitting before it has a chance to dry on the vine.  So if anyone out there knows how to hasten the process, please email me!

Here are the plants now, and this is after several trimmings.  We keep trimming it every time it grows in to the lawn, or out under the fence!  What a difference 4 weeks and 20 to 30 degrees hotter makes!  We go out and push the plants towards the middle away from the lawn at night, and every morning it's crept back out.  Like it's got little legs!  But, we'll have plenty of winter squash this year, basically all winter long!

Tomorrow I'll show you one of our Zucchinis - we're really excited about growing some of our own veggies!  When we lived in the Monterey/Salinas area, there wasn't enough heat or sun to grow much of anything but herbs.  So we are still learning!

Is anyone else growing a garden this year?  What did you plant, and how is it doing?  We'd really like to know, "How does your garden grow?"  You knew that was coming, right!?

Blessings,
Donna

A Journal To Cheer A Friend

I so enjoy crafting and making cards!  One of my DAR Sisters fell and fractured her ankle and was hospitalized a few days, now spending time in a Rehabilitation Facility to help her get back on her feet a bit faster.  I made this pretty little Journal for her.

I thought a journal would be nice for her to be able to write daily notes, keep track of visitors, cards and flowers or gifts!

These flowers are again from Wild Orchards and are two toned with a deep rich burgundy while the rose goes from dark to light pink

Thought it was pretty, but needed a kick of color - when I used the burgundy velvet it was too little, when I used the big pink it looked too plain BUT together Wallah!

Threw in some pearl sprays, a bit of gathered lace along the edge of the journal a row of pearls on top!  So pretty!

Hard to see here, but I also added a nice long piece of ribbon as a book mark or place mark.  I glued it in by bending both front and back covers together poured a bit of glue down the books middle behind the binding.





I wish you all cooler days, breezy nights!


Blessings,
Donna 

New Birthday Card For Our Dear Friend!

This card started out as a 12x12" piece of K & Company card stock.  I cut 3" on the top off, folded it in half, then covered the bird with Glossy Accents.  It already came glittered and had a bit of resist on the bird and the floral design, but wanted more on the bird.

Next I took Wild Honey Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) and inked up the entire front of the card and love the way the ink resisted the bird and design!

I had to use some of my new Magnolia flowers I just received from Wild Orchard Flowers!  They are really beautiful! Glued a leaf around each one, made a little birdie nest with two baby birds looking for Mama (and dinner) matched a piece of Bazzill card stock that matched perfectly to the ink (I always ink up the sides all around my cards, too.)   

I used embroidery thread to thread a tag I had a friend make for me and cut on top and bottom of the beak so it looks as if the bird is actually holding it in her beak!  Always need a bit of ribbon, but on the neutral side.  Lined the card with another piece of card stock to insert our personal Happy Birthday message for a dear friend!

Even Mama bird knows we need to teach our young ones, "Life Is Sweet!"  Happy Birthday, Jan, for making our lives a bit sweeter, just by knowing you!

Tomorrow I'd love to show you a card I'm finishing up for our doctor.  I also have something special I'm working on for a DAR Sister who injured herself, broke her ankle and now in a rehab facility - Ouch!

Hugs,
Donna

* * * And Time Flies By * * *

I cannot believe it has been a week since my last post!  A couple of wonderful friends wrote and asked if I was doing OK, if the family was well, was everything going alright?  Yes, yes and yes! I've just been really busy and time, literally just flew by!

A lot has happened in all our lives!  Does it seem to anyone else, the older we get, the faster time goes by?  I remember family elders saying that, and of course when we were kids we thought anyone as old as are parents didn't know what they're talking about!  When we were teenagers, time went by so slowly we could hardly wait to get out of the house!  Oh, but then came the rat race of college, working, families, and we all thought, "Ah, as soon as they're raised we'll be able to relax and enjoy life!"

So, here we are and time seems to go by so fast, it almost feels like we're on a fast train!  All these sights keep just keep going by, or we by them, so fast!  I thought of that when Don called me to look out our living room window two evenings ago to see this view ~ "Honey come look at this!"

I ran out quickly to take this photo!  Isn't this sunset incredible!?  We must slow down and notice the small blessings in our lives, and this is one of them!

I'll be back tomorrow, I would love to share some of the cards and journals I've been making.  I'll be by to visit all of my blogging buddies tomorrow, too.  Right now, just know I think of you all often and keep all of you in my prayers!

Hugs,
Donna

Blog Land Blogging Blobs

OK Any one else notice blogging is taking longer to do?  Longer to post, longer to leave a message, longer, longer and then POOF! A comment we left for a friend on their blog is gone!

I have felt a lot like this guy lately!  Hee haw!  My blog was switched to the new Blogger format way back when it was introduced, I had a ton of trouble trying to do the everyday things I had just learned on regular blogger.  So, I worked at it and finally felt like I was getting along fine. Then the whole thing with Chrome verses regular Blogger came up.  My sweetie got me all set up with that and I'm finally use to it.

I've even been able to get my photos on faster and easier - well by mistake, actually.  I accidentally double clicked on the photo I wanted and it loaded lickity split!  Easy Peasy! Another notch in my belt.  Now another problem the past couple of weeks, going to leave comments for friends and up pops 'select profile' - O K - select my profile and my message is gone.  At first I figured it was saved and went on my way.  Then a few of my friends we missing me as I hadn't left a message in several days, not like me.  But I had!!  There must be a million posts, pictures and messages out in blogger outer space!!

So I had to put on my thinking cap - pretty nice one, hug?  Now what I've figured out is for what ever reason, I need to not just refresh my page, but sign out - sign back in and then I'm ready to roll.  So - for my sweet friends who missed me, 'THANK YOU' for letting me know, for asking. Maybe this will help someone else.  I think it's a bother, and always wonder what is going to pop up next?

I had a friend ask how much time I spend a day blogging, because it's very easy to just get lost in here.  So I have to stay on track or I loose track of time!  I'm finding everyone is weighing these issues, too.

For those of you who are very computer literate, I'm very happy for you that you don't ever have any of these problems.  For those who confided in me that you have the same kinds of things going on - we're all here to help each other.

Cutest thing happened to me today!  I was out giving all my plants a drink of Miracle Grow.  A pair of Hummingbirds who are nesting in the tree on the side of our hill came and took turns taking a sprinkle shower from the hose!  You all know how much I love these little guys!  No camera, and because it was so hot, all the windows were closed so I couldn't call Don to come take my picture with them!

First one would come and shower for a bit, then the mama would come and shower - I stretched my hand to her and she came over to see if I had a gift for her.  Next time I'm out, I'm carrying my camera and some oranges or yarn for her!

Well, it's late, and with all the yard work today, the heat and oops - I forgot to freeze the peaches - need to do that first thing in the morning!!  Thank you to the Graphics Fairy and June at Dezinaworld for the images I used here.  I'm off for a cup of tea before jumping in bed!

Blessings to all for a wonderful new week.
Donna

~ ~ ~ How Does Your Garden Grow?? ~ ~ ~

Well pretty darn good right now!  Hot weather is supposed to be coming - a one of these days! The last two weeks the weather guessers have been saying, "Winds will be dying down and the weather will be warming up 10 degrees tomorrow, 10 degrees the day after and we'll be in triple digits in a few days!"  Still not happening, but our garden is doing pretty good in spite of only 80's (all of the plants we put in are for hot weather!)

Here's what we have so far - and we're happier than can be with it!

Do you see the pea pods!?  There's about 6 Snow Peas and Snap Peas!

Butternut Squash - 3 bushes - and so far I've counted about 40 babies like this and a ton of flowers!  We just enjoyed our last one from last year's crop!

Spaghetti Squash!!  It's growing like crazy this year!  Remember last year, last Spring when it stayed so darned cold and Spring just passed us by?  Nobody had much success with this plant because we had so many late frosts, it killed them all!  I quickly counted this evening - hold your headbands ladies - 25 already with a ton of flowers and this is the first wave!!

Zucchini Squash!  Yeah!!  It's been growing like crazy!  We've been enjoying stir fried veggies now for a couple weeks, given a few away - and can't wait to grow a couple of boats for bread.  Looks like we'll have another bumper crop, which is a good thing - we're down to the last 10 or so loaves and that's the family favorite!

Yellow Crook Neck Squash - well of the two plants, one is straight, one is crook neck!  Planted together in the same pot - love them both so no matter!

Our first baby Bell Pepper!!  Think this is a red one.  The one on the left isn't making it so I'll need to take it off, but I hope you can see the one in the middle?  These plants are small and not growing vigorously - they need the HEAT!!!   We are still finishing up our peppers I froze last year!  So, these will be ready just in time!

Last but not least this evening, our tomato plant.  We chose a Patio Tomato because it stays a bit more compact. Only one plant this year.  We've found more than one produces so many, we thought we'd stick with only the one this year - and it's already been providing tomatoes.  I hope you can see it even has tons on it already and it's still a baby.

If I get adventurous next year, maybe I'll plant my Yellow Pear and Beefsteak Tomatoes, some Jalapenos, and the herbs needed for salsa and can some for the year!  We'll see - we're just at the beginning of this season!  I forgot to take photos of the beets and carrots!  The tops are about 4" high already.  Probably should thin them out, but I hate to toss out those babies!  Those are growing in large pots this season - a new one for us!

So ~ that's how my garden is growing, so far!  With 3 Butternut, 2 Spaghetti, 2 Zucchini, 2 Yellow Squash plants (last year was not so proliferating as this year has even started out!), 4 sets of Peas in two mounds (again, last year didn't yield but 10 or so ALL SUMMER!!!) 3 Bell Pepper (red, yellow, orange) - always great to freeze, and 1 Tomato, along with the Fruit trees Blueberries, Beets, Carrots and Herbs so far- we should have a fair crop.  Lots to put up, lots to give away and share with friends and family!

If you have a garden, please let me know so I can pop by and see how your's is growing!

Have a wonderful weekend, Ladies!!

Blessings,

* * * * * * * Happy 4th of July * * * * * *

I hope everyone enjoyed our lovely 4th of July!  What an honor we have in our country, I think the greatest country in the world, to freely celebrate our National Independence!

Our Nation is so very blessed!  We wake up every day, go to the job of our choice, make as much money as we want to work hard to acquire, provide for our families in the manner in which we would like.  We are schooled for free until we graduate from High School, able to attend a number of different trade schools, colleges or universities - that in and of itself is tremendous!  How many people came, and are still coming, some at great cost both monetarily and physically, just for that right alone?

Let's face it, almost every one of us has an immigrant background!  But at the end of the day, whether we have become Naturalized or born here, WE ARE AMERICANS!

It's up to all of us, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, all of us, to teach our little ones exactly what this means.  We have freedom and liberty today because of the brave men signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that they would loose every thing they owned, every one they loved, their very lives!

Every single man who sign this document, that some would crumble up and throw away, died horrible deaths, lost their love ones, wives, children - every thing they worked for FOR US! What greater sacrifice could another man give to his countrymen?  I think there is no greater gift.

We have so many rights, so many liberties, so many freedoms, I pray we are honorable enough, strong enough, wise enough to keep them!  Do you realize, or do your children or grandchildren know, that people in other countries are imprisoned or punished by death for worshiping Jesus Christ?  For believing there is only one living God?  Some for believing in any god, some for not believing in a god not of their choice?   Do you have to believe in our country? No - that too is your right!

Just as the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, as General George Washington and our country men and women believed in, fought for, died for, I for one am grateful each and every day for those who have fought, died and won our battles to keep us free!

For those who are still in our Military Services, "Thank you for your service to our country.  My family and I appreciate you, we thank you for standing on the front lines protecting our freedom, our very way of life."  To those families who have someone in the Branches - "Thank you for your service to our country.  While not on the front lines, you are the one supporting your service person, keeping the home fires burning, raising the children of soldiers.  You and your family make the sacrifice every day for all of us.  And please know, my family and I thank you and appreciate you and your sacrifices."

So - while we are shooting off fireworks, sparklers - gosh that reminds me of when I was three years old - honestly!!  Please remember after the BBQ's, time on the beaches, or in the stadiums watching big shows, our country is very fragile right now.  We all need to work hard to keep our flag raised, to make sure our freedoms and liberties are not stolen from us one bit at a time, be proud of our country, work hard to keep it free, work with one another.

Blessings,
Donna