Sparklers For Summer

Can't wait for this fun shirt to arrive in my mailbox!
Ordered from Taylor Wolfe online shop, but it's now sold out.
When it comes to cute clothes you have to be quick on punching that ORDER BUTTON.

So what's going on other than the ordering of a shirt?

 The lettuce in the garden has gone all out NUTS, but we and the neighbors are all appreciating it.
It makes for wonderful dinners each evening.

 Rain Rain Rain Rain.
It's been a crazy month, and we have had so far had about 10 inches this month with one more day left on the calendar.

 It rained so hard that rock in our drainage areas was washed further down the gullies and even into the roadside ditches, leaving the drainage areas with nothing but dirt.

 My husband ordered a much larger size stone this time and has been busy rebuilding the wash/drainage areas to once again guide the deluges of rain that fall on the mountain property above us.  Our home is always high and dry due to good drainage, thanks to my husband's handiwork.

 You can see just how green and lush everything here is.
We do love the green, but enough is enough with the rainfall, Mother Nature.

 You can see the garden at the bottom of the hill in our backyard. 

 There he is hard at work placing the rock in the drainage area.

 Red Nose Day was last week, a project to help end world hunger for children.
Just with the purchase of a red nose at Walgreens you could help them out.
I think you can still purchase the nose and give money through June 2nd? 
Check Walgreen's website for the exact ending date or walk into a Walgreen's store and purchase a nose at their checkout counter.

 Of course with all of the rain has also come thunder which Izzy is not comfortable with.
It usually arrives before we can even get her into her Thunder Shirt, so she seeks out her daddy and is able to relax completely on his lap.
So cute!

Memorial Day came and went.  There, of course, was rain, but we all ate high and dry in the screened porch with even a little cool breeze to keep us comfortable.
The Kind of Grilling was happy to grill us up some red meat and asparagus, and we also had baked potatoes, baked beans, and for dessert lemon pop-ups.

He actually did more steaks than what you see here.  I took this photo the next day.  Since we had two more steaks that needed to be grilled, he got busy and we ended up having steaks two days in a row!!
I think I have had more than enough red meat for a couple of weeks.
Back to chicken and fish for this gal.

 

 

 Hope your month of May was perfect, and that you have great plans for the summer
Back soon!!

Minestrone On Steroids

*Blue Ridge Mountains shrouded in rain clouds*

We were 60 degrees yesterday but today it tumbled into the 20's.  Our weather is a total roller coaster.... those 60 degree temperatures brought much needed rain, so I won't complain since the ground is far too dry and I fear for the needs of trees and bushes this spring.  

 

 Cold weather is always good justification for making homemade soup in our house.

This one is one that my husband refers to as 'beefed up minestrone', or as I call it... 'minestrone on steroids'.

LOL

It is tomato sauce, onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, ground beef, diced tomatoes, and of course Hubby's Italian seasonings which always come into play in our meals.

Just before it's done he will add a small amount of cabbage, a partial head leftover from something we concocted last week. 

This soup should warm us to our toes in this twenty something degree weather today.

Ciao!

 

Date Night

 My husband suggested we get ice cream.... it's a great treat and one that we try not to indulge in too often because of the calories and the fat content.

BUT, it was Friday night, and for many couples that means 'date night'.

A Bruster's kind of date night.

 The weather was looking 'not so spectacular' but we ventured out to a much recommended ice cream business anyway, since the ice cream there is rated four our five stars.

 They make their own ice cream and their own waffle cones!

 The key lime was one of their new flavors so I had to try it since I am a total fan of just about anything 'key lime', and it was worth it!

 and as for my husband.... he had chocolate, which is a given with him.  ALWAYS chocolate.

I like to live life a bit more dangerously and try multiple flavors given the opportunity, because for me,

life is NOT a box of chocolates.

It's a box of so much more than that!

We finished our treats just as the sky opened up and poured down, in fact we had been experiencing small amounts of sprinkles throughout our date.

Into the car we headed just after the last nibble of waffle cone, and

the RAIN. CAME. DOWN.

Whew.....

Thanks for a great date, Sweetie.

Oh how the years have gone by.

A Quiet Post

I think today I will simply post photos of the beauty that surrounds us.

These were from early last week when it rained for a couple of days.

A cold rain. A constant rain.

A quiet rain, except during the night hours when the pounding on the rooftop kept me awake.

Thanks for viewing this very quiet post.

xox

Not A Potted Mum

 The week-end was cold, once again requiring a bit of added warmth.

I had a bout of cabin fever, which strikes me during long spells of inclement weather like we have been having here in Virginia for what seems now like weeks.

Seems as though it started around the 20th of September, just before our anniversary and hasn't stopped since.

*scarf - Steinmart*

*Coat - Columbia brand from Gander Mountain last winter*

*Hat - Minnetonka brand from Leatherhaus*

*Lipstick - All Fired Up by Mac*

 My husband was out taking down a dead cedar tree and using a chainsaw so Rowdy was hesitant about leaving the safety of the cement slab, and the roof was keeping him dry... so why leave?  

 As you can see, we still did not get the upper or lower driveways paved.

Far too much rain for that.

 Absolutely everything is soggy up to it's ears.

This ground won't take much more,

The potted mums have loved it.  No complaints from THAT peanut gallery.

And although there is a smile on my face,

I am not a potted mum and am over this rain

REALLY OVER  THIS RAIN.

Sending wishes to all rainy parts of the country for a dry week.

Hats Coats Scarves

In my previous post I spoke of projects that need to happen, or rather WE WANT to happen, and we had hoped to get started on them this coming week.

Errr, I doubt that will happen, in fact it's looking more and more likely that they may not get started for a week or two.

We appear to be engulfed in a pattern of constant rain, something that August and early September did not offer us in small doses as usually is the case.  

We are getting it all at once, just as we did the snow last February when it would not stop snowing to save our lives... LOL  My husband was gone to California at that time to be with his brother during surgery for a glioblastoma, and the snow removal here fell on the shoulders of kind neighbors and myself. Me? Shovel??  ACK!  But shovel I did.

 Right now we are having temperatures that I find to be ideal for autumn comfort, but THE RAIN...

OMG

THE RAIN!

Anyone care for a bucket or two or three?

Because I would gladly send you a truckload of rain were it possible.

 Sweatshirts, raincoats, and large brimmed hats are a must right now, and luckily I own all of these items.

My Motto?

Always be prepared when it comes to the weather in Virginia,

because it's full of constant change.

 Hat.

Check.
Smile.
Check.

 Coat and scarf.

Check.

Rowdy:  Mom forgot to buy us hats, scarves and coats.
I don't think we should risk getting wet.

What do you think, Izzy?

Izzy: Well, it does make my fur rainwater soft,

but every time I get wet the skunk smell comes back.

Rowdy:  Ya, I've noticed an odor.

Murphy's Law Perhaps

 Leaves are browning up due to lack of rain in August.  

This is the first one that fell and blew up near the walkway.

 And this will most likely be the last floral bush to bloom this year on our property.

Dainty and sweet petals.

We are awaiting rain today, and all week-end and I am stoked about THAT!

Although it will mean us waiting to have some dirt work done in the backyard.

Funny.... we waited and waited and WAITED to have this dirt work done all during the month of August and early September, and not one drop of rain fell.

Now that we have someone to do the work for us, Nature decides to send us rain.

LOL

There must be a Murphy's Law of some kind hidden in that.

Enjoy your week-end.

XOX

Water

I've been having some health issues very recently and have been told by my doctor, along with other recommendations, to

DRINK WATER!!  LOTS OF WATER!!

And so I am, but it has me thinking about how important it is that we all take an active role in using what we have in a conservative way so that humans, who need a lot of water each day in order to survive, will have it.

Our bodies, the adult human body, is 50-65% water, so without drinking water we are doomed.

*rain on our wedding day in 2007*

It rained the day we married and you can see the wet streaks on my dress as we stood outside for the photos.

I didn't care.... I was in love with the man and welcomed the rain,

It may have spoiled my hair, but definitely not the mood.

*Rowdy as a wonderdog pup and his mentor, Handsome*

The sweet animals of the earth will disappear without water.

Gardens won't grow.

Trees will no longer thrive and sway in the breeze, the lovely rustle of their leaves gone forever.

But, no one would be around to hear the rustle either, so what does it matter?

What if the rain no longer falls, and what does, only to be used by corporations who would hope to make a profit by selling it to the rest of us,

those of us who need it to survive on a daily basis,

those of us who need it to maintain that 50-65% of our biological makeup.

We'll all go in search of it, begging on hands and knees for the golden drops from the sky,
but as for right now, I am drinking in my share giving healing life to my body that so very much needs it right now,

WATER=LIFE FOR ALL
Use it wisely, please.