Pie Heaven

Fall is my favorite season, but Summer ain't too shabby either.  Ninety-plus degree temperatures with nasty humidity like we've had lately, I could do without thank you very much.  She redeems herself nicely though, with a plethora of fresh veggies and fruits --- the taste of which you just can't get any other time of the year. 

Tomatoes fresh out of the garden ... to die for! 

Fresh cool cucumber salad ... the best!

But by far my favorite summer time treat (and my brood's too if the rate at which they are consuming them is any indication) are fresh strawberries.  Sadly the season is winding down, but we are still finding enough to enjoy the occasional homemade shortcake and our favorite .. Simply Scrumptious Strawberry Pie.

“When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”

Jack Handy

I don't know if there'll be pie in heaven ... seems like there ought to be if you ask me.  I do know that eating a slice of this sweet creation, however, is pretty darn close to heaven on earth!  Make one today, you won't be sorry you did :)

A Little Vintage Goodness

I was driving through town yesterday when I saw something that made my heart race and my palms sweat.  It was a handwritten sign with my favorite two words (next to "ice" + "cream") scrawled on it with black magic marker ...

I know I need more stuff like I need a hole in my head, but I had to stop ... I just had to!  I mean what's a card carrying, old stuff-loving, Mama Hen suppose to do?  Pass up an opportunity for the chance to procure some vintage-y goodness? I think not.

I'm so glad I stopped,  'cuz look what had my name written all over it...

  

That reminds me, I forgot to mention the intruder we had in the farmhouse last week.  One of Boy Wonder's chickens somehow got in the backdoor while we were heading out for the day.  How we didn't see it remains a mystery, but several hours later we came home to a house that had had a crazed chicken locked inside all day ... not good folks, not good at all!  There was chicken ...ahem...doo doo all over my kitchen floor, but even worse ... the bugger made it's way into the dining room and broke one of my favorite pieces of milk glass and a bunch of antique Christmas ornaments... grrr!  I was one very unhappy Mama Hen, let me tell ya!

The Geek insisted our "new" trailer needed this bad boy. 

Gosh, I love that man ... he loves old things as much I do.  Good thing too, 'cuz neither one of us is getting any younger :)

"An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have: the older she gets, the more interested he is in her."

Agatha Christie

You Can Quote Me On This

"Words matter always ... in all ways."

Joseph Heywood

I love reading quotes.  I don't know why exactly, but there is something about them that draws me to them like a moth to a flame.  I love their ability to shrink down into a sentence or two, a book's worth of wisdom. 

"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification."

Martin H. Fischer

Quotes have the power to change me.

"Remember, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!"

Allison Gappa Bottke

To make me stop and see that my so-so day is really a great one. 

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it." 

William Feather

 To make me smile or laugh just when I need it most. 

"A great name for a new country song: If I'd Shot You Sooner, I'd Be Out of Jail by Now."

Author Unknown

They give me confidence to meet the challenges life hands me. 

"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." 

Vincent Van Gogh

 
They bring me comfort and solace in knowing I am not the only one who thinks/feels/sees life the way I do. 

"It's annoying to be disapproved of by people who know only half the story - especially when you're not sure which half they know." 

Robert Brault

I am not a quote snob by any means.  I like serious, thought provoking and enlightening quotes just as much as the off-the-wall and funny ones.

"Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway."

Author Unknown

Where I satisfy my addiction for quotes is as varied as the quotes themselves ... 

books,

"The world breaks us all. Afterward, some are stronger at the broken places."

 Ernest Hemingway- Farewell To Arms

 

television,

"Sometimes you have to step outside of the person you've been, and remember the person you were meant to be, the person you wanted to be, the person you are."

One Tree Hill

movies 

"There's no place like home."

Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in The Wizard of Oz

and song lyrics are some of my favorite sources.

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." 

Garth Brooks

But the internet is by far my biggest enabler. 

"The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot confirm their validity."

Abraham Lincoln ( source:  Modern Hepburn )

As of late, I have been able to feed my need for words on "Pinterest" --- a very dangerous place for a word junkie like myself. 

  source

 

source

I can (and have) get lost on there for hours!  Just this morning the Munchkin said, "Oh no, you are on your computer again, now I'll never get breakfast!" Hmmm! Maybe there's a twelve step program for word-a-holics.  I don't know, but I sure love the Serenity Prayer... 

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

 

A Grandparent's Love

I didn't have a grandparent in my life growing up.  Two of them had died long before I was born and one died shortly after.  My mother's father lived far away and wasn't really ever a part of my life either.  I was always jealous of the other kids talking about their grandmas and grandpas.  I know this is why I want my brood to know their grandparents.  I am always looking for ways to make their relationship stronger, but I never force things.  With my folks living right with us, opportunities are always presenting themselves...it really is a blessing beyond measure if you ask me.

My father has never been an overly affectionate man.  He's one of those quiet people that just sits back and takes in all that's going on around him.  In his younger days, he would show his love by doing ... fixing, repairing and building things for those he loved.  Now that he's older he can no longer do those things and I am sure that hurts him.

I love watching him with my chicklets.  He is much more affectionate with them than he ever was with me, but he's still hesitant.

It was so sweet watching him chatting with the Little Prince yesterday.  Several times I watched him as he reached out and stroked the little guy's hair or cheek. 

The love of a grandfather for his grandson was so evident.

 I will treasure these photos always.

Grandparents and grandchildren,

Together they create a chain of love

Linking the past,

With the future.

The chain may lengthen,

But it will never part.

Author Unknown

Fear Less

Last night as I lay in bed, I starting thinking about things going on in my life and my mind started to wander.  This is nothing new for me.  I often lose myself in thought.  It's like my secret escape.  I go down "What if" Street ... I linger a bit at "Would Coulda Shoulda" Road  and I peek inside the houses along "I Wonder" Way.  It's all pretty harmless and I don't allow myself to get too caught up in it all. 

But last night was different.

It got a bit darker on the "streets" I was wandering down.  I began to think about how fast time seems to be going lately and how much I wish I could slow it all down sometimes.  I thought about the Munchkin being five and thought how quickly five to forty five really is and then I thought about how fast my forty-five will be eighty-five and then I started to panic.

"What If" Street was no longer a happy place filled with possibilities.  It became a scary place filled with unfulfilled dreams.  "What if" I never get to do all the things I dream of doing, just like my sister didn't.  "What if" I never get the chance to create all the things I dream of creating.  "What if " I don't have what I need to get through tomorrow ... and the day after that ... and the day after that ... and so on.  "What if" my tomorrow never comes?

Yeah, it got really frightening and I began to feel like I couldn't catch my breath.  I felt so lost and alone.  To say I was scared would be an understatement.   I sent up a weak little prayer for help and wondered if anyone heard me.

He did. 

God heard my cry and swooped in and took me out of that dark and ominous place and brought me back to the light.  I recently read (so sorry I don't remember where so I can't give proper credit where it's due) that God gives us grace for today.  Tomorrow He'll give us grace for tomorrow and so on.  In other words, we don't have to worry about our tomorrows ...  rest assured God will take care of those too... instead, we can just focus on today and be confident that His grace will be sufficient.

That is such a freeing thought to me and it's what got me off the dark streets of panic last evening and back on "Living in the Moment" Lane ... a much better place to be.

"Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there."

Author Unknown

God Bless America!

My brood and I wish you and yours a safe and
Happy 4th of July!

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."
Erma Bombeck

Pomp and Circumtance

When the Geek and I started out on this home school gig, one of the things I "worried" about was my chicklets missing things like dances, award nights and graduation.  I  see now that opportunities for those things all still exist, I just needed to know where to look.  Sometimes, as it turns out, I have to look to myself to provide those things.  Yesterday was one of those times.

The Munchkin just finished up her first "official" year of school and a celebration was in order.  I had no choice but to channel my inner Martha and get my creative mojo on.  I think it's safe to say I pulled off one awesome Kindergarten Graduation. 

The guest list was small, but the joy was HUGE.

There was some pomp...

there was some laughter...

Especially when my little chickie surprised me by thanking me with the song M-O-T-H-E-R.  She and Grandma had secretly been working on it for a few weeks and let me tell ya' it was precious! Just in case you don't know it, here's the lyrics so y'all can see why I was such a crybaby...

"M" is for the million things she taught me
"O" means only that she's growing old
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me
"H" is for her heart of purest gold
"E" is for her eyes with love-light shining
"R" means right and right she'll always be
Put them all together they spell MOTHER,
a word that means the world to me!

Yep, the shindig had all the hallmarks of a true celebration. Wish you coulda been here ... dinner was delish

To top it all off, Boy Wonder put together a special rocket launch for his baby sis to celebrate "blasting off to first grade" ... seriously, is that rocket too cute or what? The pencil shape was perfect for the occasion.

I am so proud of you Munchkin! I pray you remember some of the things we told you like always let God be your compass and try and be the ONE thing that makes a difference in someone's life everyday.  God has great plans for you Baby Girl, I know it.  I am so blessed to be your Mama and have a front row seat and see it all come to life.  I Love You forever to the moon and back!

"I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known."

Author Unknown

And without further ado, I present you the Graduating Class of 2023...