now ladies, don’t be jealous

July at our little ranch is when the fruit trees are heavy with fruit, it’s when the wild plums are abundant way out back. The sun is hot, the horse is out to pasture, the kids are riding bikes and asking for popsicles. Sunny and carefree. Right?

Carefree, unless you have an aversion to spiders. Recently my sweet friend at LMLD remarked that I sound giddy…maybe from the heat and spiders.

These are two different spiders waiting to greet me as I picked wild plums this morning. I don’t know what kind they are, but if you feel the need to say swear words—it’s okay. I wish you could see how big they are because they are ginormous. My husband did a little girl skippy dance but was able to remain macho at the same time, which was unlike me who did a similar skippy dance accompanied by some words with *#$*^* attached to them while I ran 100 yards away.

I think it is only appropriate to keep sharing. Recently as I was sitting with my son out on the patio I saw something kind of fluffing in the grass nearby. It was this:

Did I enlarge that enough for you? We have seen many (too) of these this season. I admit the first one I saw I ran over with my car because I was too scared to do anything else. They creep me out but I tell myself they are God’s creatures and they are outside and not harming anyone. That is what I’m supposed to think, right? Isn’t that brave?

I left this one alone only to go out an hour later and find this:

They were fighting or mating, standing up on two legs. Let me tell you how awesome it was to see this right where I walk from my car each day. Oh boy, it was sooooo cool! I can’t step on them for two reasons….one being they are too big to fit under my shoe and the other being I would faint away. So I left them alone which seemed like the right thing to do. But the next day after killing a recluse in the house—in my bedroom mind you—my spider anxiety took a turn for the worse. That night I couldn’t even put my feet all the way down in the bed for fear of spiders. Everytime I feel a hair on my arm I shriek. I feel like a crazy lady. We have sprayed for spiders twice, in the Spring and Summer.

Do you want me to stop talking about spiders? Am I right? Are you jealous?

How about snakes? Can I talk about them?

Okay, I won’t. But that’s my husband, isn’t he so manly to hold that snake like that? He’s my hero. You can be jealous of him. He is a hunky, chunky, hunk-o-love.

* this is really just a test to see how often he reads my blog

on the kitchen table

Time has been well spent lately with Those Who Live in this House. We have been together in a haphazard kind of way, well, with the exception of the boss who is working a gazillion hours as usual (insert a little sorrowful, bitter, I-want-you-home-but-I-understand-your-job-is-demanding kind of sigh).

Sometimes we schedule fun stuff that costs money…like Beezus and Ramona (we liked it and Henry ate a large popcorn nearly by himself). But mostly the best time spent is around the table doing whatnot and talking all at once usually about nothing. Having all the kids around is a nice treat. The older ones have busy schedules which often adds a high energy of rush rush rush and stress stress stress. I am speaking for myself, I need to stay on course always. Maybe I am strict, I don’t know, but I do know sitting back and watching the teenagers keep wacky schedules with little sleep makes me much more stressed than it does them.

My oldest likes to make collages. She cuts pictures from everything –even books (gasp). She buys books and magazines at estate sales and cuts them to pieces. It made me hyperventilate until I saw the collages she makes. I love seeing what she is working on. I will bribe her to let me share something she has made.

Sam drinks from this huge cowboy boot. When Ken was away Sam was among the first to get swine flu—when it was all over the news and everybody was freaking out. I was insane with worry and kept giving him his boot of liquids. While he was drinking from it we were watching Drew Barrymore in an interview and she said she went to Oklahoma to a bar where they served beer in big glass cowboy boots and how it was so funny. Sam laughed and it was then I knew he would be okay. (Jemm is this a blessing?)

Today I poured choc raisins and crackers into the snack bowl. I left for a few minutes and returned to find one raisin left. They are so nice to leave me one, eh?

Abba was on the record player. Sam and I were coloring with Sharpies, why are Sharpies fun to color with? He colored a shoebox and I drew a ship. PS the smell of Sharpies gives me a headache.

Have you read this? This is the first time I have read Philippa Gregory though she has been recommended several times. Why did I wait so long? I am in love with this book. How is it that being a mistress to the King sounds so romantic when really it must have been horrible?

PS Would you be his mistress if or when he is King?:

when you are three

Summer is about playing

and sleeping.

making magnets

This afternoon the kids were doodling pictures of each other at the kitchen table. They were laughing really hard because the pictures weren’t very nice. Lots of big teeth and boogers.

I interrupted their fun thinking it was a good time for a project. Only all too soon I realized it wasn’t because everything was a joke and my patience wore out real quick. I was cooking chicken and doing laundry at the same time and I was trying to explain what to do in my happy-mom-voice. Can you guess what happened next? I started yelling. For 10 minutes I stewed and steamed. (And I’m not talking about the chicken) It was some real fun! Don’t you want a play date at my house?

We were able to rescue my mood and soon had some crafty fun.

I think all these supplies came from Michael’s (Hi Leslie).

We painted and glued images onto wooden discs….working on several at a time to let them dry.

These craft paper tablets are from Martha Stewart.

After everything was dry we coated them with Triple Thick, it’s really glossy and almost looks like plastic when it’s dry. I like it a lot. I have urges to label everything and coat over the labels. This might be a problem.

These are Molly and Sam’s magnets. I think they had fun, after the yelling anyway.

Summer Afternoon

During the dullest days of winter the phrase “summer afternoon” makes me think of the front porch, a gentle breeze and lemonade. Today was a moment of that.

As I sat there listening to the breeze which ironically sounds very similar to the sea air that blows back home, I day dreamed of happy things.

Like a green Old Towne canoe. I want one.

Truth be told—even though we have a good sized pond I can’t set a foot or boat in it as I read a horrid account on Lonesome Dove that included a young boy getting caught in a nest of water moccasin snakes (This wasn’t one of the happy thought daydreams, by the way.)

Fenwick in Old Saybrook, CT on the other hand is a very happy daydream. This is where Katherine Hepburn lived and it is so very beautiful. It juts out on the ocean so stately and yet though there is sand and water abounding there is lush grass for an impromptu game of croquet.

From the time I got my drivers license I have driven by this property on lazy country drives. On those days when you don’t really want to go anywhere but you don’t want to go home either. What’s your favorite place? Do you have a favorite country drive?

At the top of my list

One of the items at the top of my thrifty list is yardage of vintage red and white table check. Over the years I haven’t found too much... a cloth napkin here and there or moth holed pieces that can’t ever be returned to their crisp and clean lined splendor. It has always seemed odd to me there isn’t more good stuff as it seems it was part of everyday life for many. My source for this info is of course the Walton’s—do you know John and Olivia? They are good folks, those Walton’s and brought me through many a rainy day. I have only one season left to watch and I ration each episode, watching one only when I am at my down and out and need to see their weekly apron stash as they do chores up on the mountain. Yes, I like the story lines and John Boy is a writer and Mary Ellen a nurse, blah blah blah. I really just like looking at their furniture and dishes and how they built their chicken coop fence. They wear little cardigans over tiny flowery printed dresses, I just love that.

I found a decent piece of this fabric at an estate sale…the one that I mentioned as awesome, dude. I saw it from afar and though there was no one else in the room with me I took giant leaping steps and like a magnet to metal it was firmly tucked into the crook of my arm.

After washing it and hanging it out It was ironed and sprayed with Egyptian Cotton Linen spray, I heavily dilute this as the scent is a bit strong. I like it to be just a hint of scent otherwise it reminds me of that Freshman English teacher that smells like scented maxi pads. I know you know this lady. She always wears her hair in tight short curls and has skinny lips with lipstick that has trouble staying in the lines.

Can you imagine what kind of grade she would give this post? Indenting paragraphs is so yesterday.

I love the faggoting edge. I really want to learn how to do this. Such a tiny delicate stitch and it adds so much.

Is seven pictures of Gingham table check enough? I capitalize the G because it should be a proper noun. Don’t you agree?

Gingham…… I love theeeeeeee

belly laugh

We’re back. It is so, so silly to drive away from all these smiling faces. The kind of silly when you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I did both I think. I miss them.

My sister and my son, all the cousins run to her like she is the ice cream man.

We are getting back into the groove at our little ranch. The heat index is 109 today, that just might be hotter than heck don’t you think? We have been working hard, there is much to be done. But not too hard where I couldn’t go to an estate sale on Saturday. It was really a gift from the heavens as we have seen 2 tarantulas and a yucky snake and I was feeling a bit wiggy about this.

Anyhow the sale I shall share later as it was totally awesome, dude. Or as they say back home….wicked cool.

See you later alligators-- I shall check out some of your blogs and maybe if I’m not feeling too lazy I will leave you a comment.