Memememe

I was tagged by Chanie.

The rules are:

1. Open the fourth file that you store pictures in.
2. Post the fourth photo in that file.
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag four other bloggers.



Okay, I don't have my photos organized into neat folders so I just picked the fourth one that came up in my search.
I love this picture of Thomas, it is from last spring and he was having such a wonderful time.

Hmmmm...who to tag.
How about Whozat, Amy H., Dawn H., and Julie R.

tuesday ten: ten things happening in my life

Okay, it's time to ease back into blogging. I've been slacking off for a while and I have a plan to get back on track.

So...we'll start with the Tuesday ten...

1. I'm back on the farm. I'm going once a week and it is nice to get back out there. Things look beautiful and spring has definitely arrived in PA.

2. We're considering buying a house in town. It is exciting and terrifying. We have found a house we really like and it is in the same neighborhood we currently live in. We wish it was cheaper, we wish the taxes were less, we wish it had nice flooring under all that old carpet. Mostly we wish $20,000 would fall out of the sky and land in our laps.

3. Did you know that taxes are insanely abundant and high in PA? We're not in Georgia anymore.

4. Thomas is keeping us busy. He's winning awards in the county science fair, he's getting speaking parts in school concerts...the boy is a superstar!

5. JuJu...ah, there's always something happening in my life that revolves around her. She is a joy. She is busy. She is sensitive. She is currently singing, to her dolls, in her room.

6. The kids are starting tennis lessons this week. I hope it doesn't rain and I hope they have fun.

7. I'm busy with work. It's good. I sometimes wish there was more. Sometimes I wonder if I should get a "real" job (this is closely related to item #2).

8. The semester is over, but for the finals and grading, at Wilson. I can't wait to have John back again. Things get crazy when we are too busy.

9. We recently went to Pittsburgh. I loved the city! I enjoyed seeing art museums; happy, busy, friendly(!) people; good food (that wasn't the usual fare); even a Frank Lloyd Wright house. However, I was a little relieved (and that unnerved me) to get back to this small town where there is no traffic and virtually no crime. If only there was more good food and the natives were a little more friendly. I guess we take the good with the bad, right?

10. Mostly, as usual, the things happening in my life are wonderful. We have the flexibility again to travel this summer and we are looking forward to that. We can't wait to get to see our friends and family who don't live this far north (and I remind myself that if I had a "real" job that would greatly affect this freedom). We are excited to have some Cuban food and experience some real southern charm and hospitality!

ten things i like about snow

1. I admire how peaceful it is. It is nice to watch it fall and I love it after a big snow when it seems so quiet and calm outside. It is beautiful.

2. I like having a fire in the fireplace and being somewhat oblivious to how cold it is outside.

3. There is nothing like a warm mug of hot chocolate on a snowy day.

4. I love watching the kids' excitement when they see it. Thomas can't wait to build things...snowmen, igloos, etc. Julian can't wait to make snow angels all over the neighborhood.

5. The dog LOVES it. She gets so excited in a lot of snow and it is fun to watch - not so much fun to hold onto the leash, however.

6. Having grown up in Miami, FL, I still always get really excited when I see snow falling.

7. I love looking at snowflakes. They are so pretty. Especially the big, fat ones. Check out this book. It's a great one for kids. http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Bentley-Caldecott-Medal-Book/dp/0395861624/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229441194&sr=8-1

8. I love snow days when there is nothing to do but hang out at the house and cuddle.

9. I love that it means winter is here. I get really excited about winter...until I am ready for it to be over.

10. Sledding!

will work for garlic

Tthe fruits (or rather, garlic) of my labor.




And for the record. The dilly beans were delicious (or dillicious, depending on how fond you are of farm puns).

dilly beans

After much searching for canning jars, not finding canning equipment, and some complaining to my friends on the farm about wanting to can dilly beans, we have some! My friends offered to can with me so we spent about seven hours picking, cleaning, boiling, and canning dilly beans. I have no idea how they will taste but I'm hoping they will be dill-icious.

We tried to go by the recipe for dilly beans as it is printed in the Ball Blue Book of canning - at least as far as the boiling time and the vinegar, water, and salt mixture. For the ingredients, however, we just did what we wanted to. We put in a hot pepper, at least 3 cloves of garlic (sometimes much more), a bunch of dill, and as many beans as we could fit in - all fresh picked from the farm.

ten things that happened today...

1. I saw my baby boy get on the bus to go to second grade.

2. I watched another boy get on the bus for his first day of Kindergarten (and watched his dad cry).

3. JuJu and I got to hang out and go to the farm (where she pulled a weed so large that she pretended it was her husband and she danced with it).

4. I heard about how great school went today and all about the new friends Thomas made.

5. John donned his robe and walked in commencement at the college (let the semester begin!).

6. JuJu and I lay in her bed and read books and cuddled (one of my favorite things to do).

7. We all played lots of board games (another of my favorite things to do with the kids).

8. We went out to a celebratory first day of school dinner.

9. We had ice cream after that dinner (yum).

10. John and I watched part of the RNC (eek...gotta quit typing...it's still on and I don't want to say anything really nasty on here).

just can't get enough.

The sun is shining and it is downright HOT here in PA. The kids have new bicycles and they are loving them.



Thomas is quite a daredevil. A few weeks ago, right after he got the new bike, he rode on a trail with some friends and flew over his handlebars when he went down one of the larger hills. When he flew over the front of the bike he landed in a thorny bush. As he retells the story, he says, "luckily that rose bush was there and not poison ivy." Well, at least he he is a positive thinker. He was bruised and scratched up but you can't keep him away from his bike. Last night he was riding up ramps and he is constantly looking for a curb to try to jump.

Julian has been riding quite a bit also. She loves going on rides at night and she is doing very well with her new wheels. She waves at everyone she sees and rings her bell whenever she gets the chance. Luckily her balance is pretty good (and she has training wheels) so she doesn't fall over when she is busy riding one handed and checking out the things in her basket.

Lily loves being outside also. She would stay out there all day if she could.





Is it possible for a dog to be loved too much?