I recently moved my blog to http://sisspace.blogspot.com/

 

Hope to see you there!

 

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8 

 

The pictures below are of the berries I picked this morning and the hail storm of May 05.

I love the summer (Now, for those who know me well, you probably know this doesn't mean it is my favorite season, 'cause they are all my favorite season's for various reasons), but today, I really love summer.  I'm sitting at my computer, have been spending some time catching up on my brothers' blogs, and have windows in both my right and left periferal vision.  I can see out into both my front and side yards and it is beautiful.  The sun is already high in the sky and very warm (74 degrees in the shade on the top of the mountain...probably already 80 in the valley).  Because I live in the middle of the woods, the sunlight filters down through the trees and dapples the ground around the house.  One of my dogs is getting a drink of water out front, and the side view is one of absolute peace...the branches are stirring a bit in a slight wind which makes the leaves flicker around in and out of the sun beams. As soon as I finish this entry, I'm going to take the last of my cup of coffee out on the deck and watch my hummingbird feeder for a few minutes to try to count how many hummers we have in residence this year.  I know we have at least two, but really haven't taken the time to study them this year to see if there are more...some years, we've had as many as three couples.  By the end of the day, it will be very hot (up to 97 in the valley three days this week), but I don't mind the heat much.  I love the long days this time of year (though Mom, I did sigh a little on Wednesday to know they are now getting shorter). On work days, we are up with the sun, but still have a few hours of daylight left when we get home to do things around the yard (In the winter, we are up before the sun, but get home after dark).

 

I enjoy the canopy of green that watches over the house in the summer...I like watching the various gardens and patches of wildflowers around the yard to see what's blooming this week...I listen for the birds singing early in the morning, and the frogs and crickets and cicadas at night...I'm even beginning to enjoy the sound of thunder and sight of lightning in the evenings as they herald the coming of much needed rain.

 

On top of all of the above, today is a very special day because it is both my dad's and my godchild (niece)'s birthday (dwcrx's Kid2...she was due a few days earlier, but dad has always said she wanted to wait for her granddaddy's birthday to come out...sorry Mrs. dwcrx ). 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY AND GODCHILD!!!

 

Despite the fact that I am a grown woman of 40 something years (though I only officially confess to 39), I am still and always will be my Daddy’s Little Girl.  Throughout my life I have known, and hopefully appreciated, that I am spoiled rotten by my Dad.  Mom had a hand in the spoiling too, but this writing is about Dad.  From my earliest memories, I couldn’t wait for my Daddy to get home to have dinner and see his family (except on those days that I was waiting for him to dole out punishment for something horrible I had done…it had to be pretty bad for Mom to make us wait for Dad).

 

I remember those talks about my misbehavior and his disappointment way better than I remember any actual spanking itself. 

 

I remember crawling up on his lap and saying “Daddy, do you love me?” when I was trying to get something.  His response to my question was always “yes”, but luckily he didn’t always say yes to whatever I was asking for that day.  Regardless of the prize, the best prize was that I always knew he loved me (If I hadn’t known the answer for sure, I would have been afraid to ask the question).

 

I remember him picking me up in a bear hug and spinning me round and round ‘til I was dizzy and giggling…even after I was really too big for such antics and had to be too heavy to lift. 

 

I remember going on hiking and canoeing trips with him allover eastern TN and western NC.  We climbed Mt. LeComte, canoed the Doe, the Toe, the Watauga, the Holston, and many others.

 

I remember camping trips when we were little going to lots of different state parks, and seeing all different types of places.

 

I remember the first year that he had a month of vacation, he took four whole weeks to take us all the way across the country, from TN to California.

 

Mostly I remember a caring and loving Father who was always there for his children, his wife, his family, and friends. 

 

Happy Father’s Day, and Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Well, I'm determined to post tonight (trying to get back to at least 3 posts per week) despite a new level of exhaustion I'm unfamiliar with.

 

I just finished teaching a 5 hour graduate class.  This wouldn't be so bad, except that I worked 8 hours before it started and was tired before I walked into the classroom.  Sounds pretty tiring already doesn't it.  The funny thing is that this particular group of students really keeps me on my toes. I am teaching a group of teachers how to use technology in the classroom, and for their own technical assistance/administration.  The group ranges from one who already has everything due for the next week and a half done, to a couple of students who are truly plowing new ground in their skill sets.  I find myself trying to juggle students who are already very tech savvy with those who are still saying, "Click what???". On top of that, not only am I a bit ragged, but all these students were teachers themselves all day to large classrooms of students as well.  They were tired when they walked in tonight too. My goal was to try to keep the class lighthearted, while still trying to impart some small amount of technical skills/knowledge into their exhausted brains.  I've been accused in the past of not being "professorial" enough, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't very professorial tonight.  But the good news is, that at the end of the night, they were still excited about what they were learning and asking good, probing questions about the content.  I remember a few times in my graduate classes that by the end of the 2 1/2 hour time slot, I had my pen put away, my notebook closed, and was just waiting for the prof to say "See you next week" so I could get on home or out with my friends.  I saw none of this attitude tonight, even at the end of 4.75 hours (I let them go 15 minutes early...nice huh?).

 

One other quick note.  As I write this Blog, my niece (otherwise known as Kid 1 on dwcrx's page) is graduating from High School.  Congratulations!!!!!  I wish I could have been there, but not only did my students call, but my stepson came home yesterday for a very quick one week visit and I didn't want to leave right when he got home.  Hubby and I are going to try to spend time with him, do some volunteer work this weekend, try to get both kids together for dinner next week, then get one more week's work done, and off we go to a romantic cabin in the Smokies for Memorial Day weekend.

 

Somewhat disjointed blog tonight, but considering the state of my brain, anything I can actually type is probably pretty good.  Have a great Friday everyone!

Does anybody out there need relief from a drought? I think Hubby and I may can help you.  Now understand, we don't do rain dances, or practice any kind of witchcraft or voodoo stuff, we just do things that rain will mess up.  We are all familiar with the thing about if you need rain, you should just wash your car, or forget to carry your umbrella, but we take things a step further.  A few years ago, North Georgia (possibly the whole state) was going through a severe drought.  The water tables had all dropped, it hadn't rained nearly the entire month of June.  Hubby and I finally got the contractor to start on an addition to our cabin on the 1st of July.  They got started digging, cut off the old deck where the new addition would go, and then the rains came.  I rained more that July and August than I have ever seen in the summer in the south.  As I remember, the rains finally quit about the week after the contractor got the addition dried in (when the rain didn't matter anymore).

 

I had actually forgotten much about that soggy summer until the past few weeks.  Hubby had a great idea this year, that we should move most of our vegetable garden to the deck, and build an irrigation system to allow for steady and appropriate watering, both for when we are out of town, and for when we just forget.  In case you haven't already figured it out, it has been raining cats and dogs (and as Lilac says, puppies and kittens) ever since.  Finally yesterday, we had some beautiful dry weather.  Then, much to our amusement, it started to thunder in the early evening, and about 9:19 pm, it started to rain...not puppies and kittens, or even cats and dogs, we're talking mountain lions and giant wolves here.  The significance of the 9:19 is that our irrigation system is set to come on every three days at 9:16 pm.  I was sitting on the porch waving goodbye to our daughter when I heard the system come on...within minutes, our home, yard, and yes, the deck, were engulfed in sheeting, driving rain. 

 

So, if you are in a serious drought situation, just spend some time doing something that rain will mess up or negate.  If this doesn't work for you, then we may have to go back and chalk it up to what my sister-in-law calls the family luck...a step or too beyond Murphy's law for this clan.

 

In the meantime, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you all about my Mom (she also happens to be Big Guy and dwcrx's Mom too).  When we were little, she was a stay at home Mom.  She took us to ball practice, ballet and tap lessons, tennis, choir, scouts, and many other important events in a young child's life.  She was there to bandage scraped knees, hug away the hurts from other children, and spank us when we needed it (all too often I'm afraid).  She promised me Nutty Buddies in exchange for not crying while they stitched up my chin at 5 and again later at about 10 for jumping off the horrifying diving board at the pool where she also took us every summer for countless swimming lessons and days of fun. Once, against all her own motherly instincts, she even set me out in the yard and let me eat dirt because the doctor told her it would help me to stay well. 

 

Mom (and Dad) spent countless Friday nights at DB football games watching each of us in turn as we marched with the band at half-time. I have hundreds and hundreds of memories of specific events in my life, and the most important thing about them all is that she was there.  I truly can't remember a time in my childhood, adolescence, or young adult life that Mom wasn't there when I needed her.  The best part of all is that she was right there even the times I didn't think I needed her.  I think we all go through times like that in our lives (usually late teens and early twenties), and it was very reasuring that despite times I may have taken her for granted, or ignored her advice, she was always there, loving and kind, anytime I had the sense to know I needed her.

 

Now, I'm supposedly a grown woman, I have step-children and a husband of my own, but I can't tell you how great it is to know that Mom is still there to take pride in my accomplishments, to soothe frustrations, to listen to me vent when I'm angry, and still, when I need it, to gently guide me and advise me through situations where I may not be acting in the best possible manner.  We talk on the phone several times a week, sometimes every day.  Thank goodness for cell phones which makes this more affordable....I can't imagine what their phone bills were like when I was in my late twenties and going through some tough times.

 

It sounds cliche, but truly my Mom makes me want to be the kind of woman I have watched her be all my life. I wish everyone in the world could have the kind of Mom we had and have.

 

So Momma, thanks for all the things you do for me (and for the guys too).  I Love You.