Stray Finds...

Behold all the glory there is still to be found in the yard!

I had to look a bit harder this time, but there is still a bounty out there...

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

The Apple And The Tree Etc.

Ever since my wonderful sister gave me a real camera (Canon Rebel T1i) a year and a half ago, my Miss M. (now 15 1/2) has been developing a keen eye for photography. Once in a while I let her borrow my camera and off she goes exploring. I love what I'm seeing...

Our lovely neighbor with her new dog Bodi...

The Proverbial Apple!
(oh no, it's a tomato!!!)

At the river...

Mr. G.'s favorite pastime!

And not only does the apple not fall far from my tree, it also doesn't fall far from Mr. G.'s tree!

Fly Fishing with dad...

What a gal!  {smile}

Late Luscious Lavender...

This late in the season and we still have some blooming Lavender. So beautiful in the early morning light...

I'm off to Little Bit after a two month hiatus. Can't wait to see all the horses (and the riders and the other volunteers of course) again!  {smile}

Dry Streak...

Well, our almost record breaking dry streak has come to an end: it rained overnight, the first time in 48 days!

This was quite alright with me since everything was just bone dry. Now everything is bright and green again (except for the grass which is still pretty crispy looking),  it smells nice and fresh outside and you know what? The sun is shining again!  {smile}

Here some impressions from early this morning...

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Yesterday I ran 3 minutes straight for the first time in my life. Miss M. was there to encourage me, and encourage me she did! {smile}  Thank goodness I have two days off now since I'm a bit sore... (I also did some yoga and fitness on the 'wii-fit' and I can definitely feel those lunges!)

Late Summer Bloom...

This week we are experiencing temperatures reminiscent of those 'Deep Days of Summer': on Friday they are expecting 85F/ 29C! Woot Woot!  {smile}

I'm trying to get as much sunshine in as I can, before the long dark haul of Fall will start again. Enjoy the color palette of our late summer days...

 

All the pictures are 'sooc' (straight out of camera) so no cropping or editing of any kind. Sometimes (most of the time!) nature is at its best 'au naturel'....

Odds & Ends...

I'll start off this post by sending a great big 'thank you' to my mother (who is now sailing in Greenland!) for sending me the most beautiful birthday present this week. Just look at this:

The silver square is only 1 inch by 1 inch (2,5 cm x 2,5cm) and if you look at it in the right light you can see the pictures appear. (these are the pictures I took while we were visiting Long Beach, WA)
Just to be clear, this is one pendant with a picture on either side. I think it was meant as a key chain hanger, but I want to make it into a necklace. I just love it so!  {smile}

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'Tis the last Friday before school starts again and the tensions are building. 

Mr. G. (who is the head of our High School) is experiencing the busiest time of year and so is 'off on another planet' as I call it. The kids are reading like crazy to finish their summer reading and  trying to remember all their crazy Math skills for their Math packets that are also due on Monday and on which they will be tested! Master C. will be taking Calculus this year and Miss M. does Algebra 2 Honors. They are both way further in this field than I ever was...

Cross-Country Running practices started last Monday (every day from 3:30 until 5:30pm) for Master C. and Miss M. is almost done with all the driver's ed classes. (and is doing great by the way) This all meant  that I felt like a taxi driver this week: first 25 minutes to school to drop off Master C., then another 30 minutes (through very busy traffic) to drop-off Miss M. at her driver's ed and then another 30 minutes to get home from there. Thankfully Mr. G. then picked up Miss M. at 6:15pm so that I didn't have to jump into the car again... Pfiew!

Anyway, that is over now. Master C. will be taking my car today and Miss M. will be picked up for a fun Laser Tag event somewhere south of Seattle I think, so I will have a whole day to myself and might actually start a little bit of sewing, who knows... <wink>

I did do some sewing over the summer holidays and this was one of them: a new sewing machine cover.

I just love the combination of these two fabrics! I made a handbag out of them also last year and a little credit card/ business card holder this summer, but I haven't made any pictures of that last one yet.

In the upper picture you can see that I have some patterns spread out on the table for my perusal. Still haven't decided on which one to tackle first but hopefully that decision will be made this morning...  <wink>

And in news from the garden: we have onions!

And finally, just look at what I found at Target yesterday:

I just had to have it! 

I think I will use it to store all my zippers in since it is about a foot tall and measures approx. 6 inches across. (30 cm tall by 15 cm)   Giant I tell you!  {smile}

Taxi Please!

Yes, these tomatoes are called 'Taxi' and they are just starting to become ripe: Yum!

Every time I see these tomatoes I hear the song of 'Joe le Taxi' in my head... <wink>

The ripening is no problem with the totally crazy temperatures we've been having:

And another day like that is in the forecast for today. Miss M. and some of her friends will go to the river to cool off. Don't worry, they will be wearing their life jackets. A twenty year old man drowned two days ago in the bigger river and we saw  all the emergency vehicles and police boats in and near the river trying to resuscitate him, to no avail... (i.e. he didn't make it)

Hopefully this will be the last hot day for this year because we're just hanging inside with a/c blasting to cool us off, rather boring I must tell ya...

Ramblings...

This morning we all left the house at 9 (yes, even the teenagers) to go out for some Blueberry Picking!  It was rather overcast, which was a good thing, because when the sun came out it was Hot...

The farm is only a few minutes down the road and there were berries a plenty. In fact we picked 17 pounds   of them ($2 a pound, so cheap!) and that didn't even make the slightest dent in their harvest. The problem is that our freezers are full so I think we'll have to take some other old stuff out to make room for all these berries... (what a great problem to have)

We were almost home when we spotted a garage sale in our neighborhood. I snagged a white plastic lounge/ sunbathing chair for $5 and this afternoon I spent some wonderful time in it snoozing reading... <wink>

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Last night we spent some time around our fire pit. (the one we built ourselves and the chairs as well!) It was just lovely to sit there, make jokes and simply enjoy each other's company on a quiet, muggy night...

And I'll end this little rambling post with some items from our vegetable garden. Things are growing nicely and are soooo tasty!  {smile}

Beets, Plums, Peas, Green Beans and more is on its way...

Tomato...

First (cherry) tomato of the season!

Saturday Morning Ramblings...

It is a little bit cloudy and grey over here and this picture shows all that. I picked the flowers from our garden: I love Daisies in all colors and sizes. Just a happy looking flower! 

This week Master C. had all his wisdom teeth removed. That's how they do it here, all four at once. He is still feeling a bit sad for himself, but there isn't much pain involved so I think he will be ok. A good thing since Miss M. will have hers removed in about 10 days time...

Before that happens though we will have spent a few days out at the sea ocean side so we will be nice and relaxed by then. We're renting a tiny cottage and Olive the dog is coming with. Her right hind leg doesn't work to well anymore so not too much walking for her, but a change of scene and air is always good. The birdies (and our neighbors) will be looking after our house in the mean time...

Today though we have been invited to a 'Red Neck' barbecue party. I assume that everybody is familiar with the term Red Neck? It does not involve necks in a reddish color...  <wink>

And then on Wednesday we will be celebrating the 4th of July with some of our neighbors. Our little town organizes a real cute parade with lots of flags, wagons, tractors, horses, kids etc.  Late afternoon we're having another barbecue and then, once it gets dark, the town organizes a big fireworks display in the park. It should be a fun day!

And in between we do 'NOTHING'!  The true holiday mood has arrived!  <wink>


~  ~  ~  Mr. G. and Miss M. just came home with these strawberries: fresh from the fields!