A very nice Mother’s Day

Mother’s day, my siblings and some of my Mom’s grand children gathered at her house to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was a nice day, with a lot of hugs going around and really great conversations between all of it.

What I loved about this day, was how laid back and peaceful it was. Even my Mom seemed to relax a bit and it was great. Usually she gets a bit antsy when there are a lot of people in her home, even if they are all “us kids” and she knows that we are there for her. She isn’t like that with me, but I go to spend time with her far more than my brothers and sisters do.

Once we got back to our house, the evening is going as smooth and peaceful as the whole day went. All in all, THAT is MY kind of way to spend Mother’s Day.

Sick ickys

A virus and the flue are going around.

It seems so many of my friends and family have come down with this stuff. Melancholy, headache, flu like symptoms…it’s a miserable feeling.

I know this, because I have come down with it too. It seems to come and go. Not good. Not good at all. To everyone who is experiencing this, feel better sooner than soon. My thoughts and healing energy are with you.

Banana bread

I made some very good Banana bread muffins for supper last night and they were gone by morning, I love to bake and Banana bread is one of the best things that my family really likes a lot. Big guy like the blueberry muffins the best but for the rest of us Banana bread and muffins is the way to go, and by the way he eats his share of the Banana bread and muffins just like the rest of us. I guess I will have to make some blueberry muffins soon enough, got to keep everyone happy it’s the mom’s job you know.

Blueberry muffins

One of the special little treats we have from time to time are blueberry muffins. I really love them and the whole family really like the change of pace from regular bread. I make a few muffins and the rest of the batter I make into a loaf pan and it makes a very nice loaf of blueberry bread. We had some last night and the left overs have made a couple of very nice snacks today I think next time I will make banana bread muffins just as a change of pace from the blueberry muffins.

Shopping for porch furniture

Yesterday when I went to the stores for some things I needed, on a whim I went into the garden section to look at furniture for my porch. Everything is on sale! From chairs to the glider seats that I love so much. Even the porch swings are on sale, which I really love.

If I check on finances, and all is semi okay on that count, I’d love to have at least a couple new chairs and the porch swing. The kind of porch I have would be perfect for the swing.

Growing up, we always had a front porch swing and as I’m writing this little add to my blog, I’m even more convinced that I want the swing more than I do even the new chairs. Hopefully there is still one at the store I went to left tomorrow when I go into town again. On the flip side…I just may go get it later on today! I think the family would like it as much as I would.

Possibilities of a small pond

Kicking around the possibility of a small pond has been on my mind lately. We have enough room on our lot out in the back yard, and I would really love to see what I could do when it comes to landscaping around a pond.

I don’t want a really big pond. A small one, stocked with some fish and water critters would work just fine for me. My dog could swim in it, and I wouldn’t have to worry like I do if he goes into the pool. I am afraid one of these days he is going to rip the liner, and in a pond there isn’t that worry. He loves the water and since the temperature hasn’t budged below 85 degrees in the last few weeks, it would be a great respite from the heat for my little guy.

Of course, I’ve not mentioned my idea to my husband yet. I have to come up with some very good pros, to counter his cons. We’ll see what happens, but I would indeed love to have a small pond.

New bathroom vanity

Getting a new vanity in the bathroom had to be put on hold for awhile because we had developed problems with the pipes that came up from the under the floor and though I had kept telling my husband that I thought we had a leak, he had been too busy with work and other things he had on his plate, to even check it out. Something that of course upsets me to no end, as I don’t really know anything about pipes and plumbing. I didn’t even know how to begin to fix the leak or who to call that wouldn’t’ charge me a small fortune.

After talking to a good guy friend of mine, he came out and looked at it and thank goodness it was a fairly easy fix. I ended up using the barter system and promised him three loaves of homemade bread for him to fix my leaky pipe.

Shopping for the vanity was easy. There were only three that I had looked at and really loved, but only two that would fit the space. Since I couldn’t decide on which I wanted, I let my oldest son pick. I like his style and he knows mine, so we came home with a really nice looking and functional vanity. I’m happy with it and it does give me more storage space.

 

 

Market day and sky high prices

This morning I had to go grocery shopping and once again, the prices of food bummed me out. It’s getting harder and harder to feed my family and I know I’m going to have to once again tighten up the purse strings and go back to basics.

I can cook creatively, but now I’m going to dig out old recipes that my mom had used while raising us. She was a pro at cooking something great with the minimal of resources. I admire and respect her for this and a lot of other reasons.

Online there is a site that I go to, which tells what items, food and otherwise, is  found cheap during the month of June. It’s looking like meat prices are not in the cards, but berries and produce are. LOL.. there I go, I’ll fix my kids berry squash casseroles and see how that goes over. NOT!

 

A new kitchen faucet

Usually when I get home from some place, I notice if something new has been added to my house, or if something is in disarray, missing, or just “not right.” Except today, and then into the evening. Now I feel like jerk in a way.

I hadn’t really been in the kitchen since I had gotten home from running errands today, so when I went in tonight to get a glass of water, I turned on the light and nearly was blinded by a new kitchen faucet and fixtures that had been installed by my husband. I felt terrible that I hadn’t noticed it before, and wondered why he looked at me funny, after I had come out of the kitchen a few times earlier.

Yes, I fawned all over them and made a big deal of them, partly for my husband’s ego and partly because the set up is really one of the best brands made, and also look awesome in my kitchen. Besides, I was tired of getting wet by the hand sprayer ever time I turned on my faucet.

 

Grills, open fire and camping

A lot of people are really into grilling. I find it a pain in the butt to do, despite of the grill outfits now a days, look like one brought their whole kitchen out into the yard. Maybe toting along part of the dining room too. I guess ya’ll can tell that I’m not one of the kind of people who like to grill. I am much more comfortable using a oven rack over an open fire. I think this stems from the years as kids and then young adults, camping trips. Now, I prefer to camp  in comfort.  I’ll come to semi real tent like camping, is a pop up camper that is decked out.

I do however, know how to cook on the open fire. I lug my cast iron pots, pans and skillets along with me, and also an old antique coffee pot, along with food that feeds an army in a few pots. I love cooking outside. I just don’t like to grill.