Short Story Long

I don't often shoot weddings, but I was happy to be a part of this one. the bride's shoes notice the impending storm

We recently got a GPS and have been looking into geocaching . (I must note that George and her husband got us started on this notion.) Tonight, we finally got out and did it! Sisterpants even ventured out with us. As I was looking around on geocaching.com at the items near our house, I was intrigued by one that said "night caching" so we waited til it got dark, loaded up the car, took some flashlights and went on a little night hike. I think everyone had fun. We didn't really know what we are doing and it took us a lot longer than it should have. (The coordinates did not line up exactly - off by a hundred feet. Is that my fault? I did the initial satellite set-up. Which was just pushing one button while I stood out on the back porch.) I'm not sure what the problem was. The boys kept saying, "I'm scared," although I know secretly they were all thrilled to have permission to use flashlights. Anyway, we found it thanks to the clues , and everyone...

I don't know why this picture is sideways, but anyway, here's my giant allium with some raindrops. We've had 3.69 inches this month, probably half of that in the last four days!

Thank you for serving and protecting our country, Dad, Grandpa, Uncle Jim, Bob, Brian, Gabe, Jerem, Heidi, Sam, Doc, and all the rest of our armed forces.

Winners first: the first three bloggers to comment were Judy , Candace , and Audrey . Remember to pay it forward! Cheryl was the first non-blogger to comment. Thank you for playing along, ladies! Cheryl, please leave me your email so I can contact you! Now, what will I make for them? Hmmm... So many fun choices. I'm going to have to think about it awhile. So here's how I came to make socks: I have this friend, Marly, I've taken pictures for, and she wanted to repay the favor. She said she'd teach me to knit socks. I had a couple of projects going and I was not in a hurry to learn socks; they just didn't grab me. Finally, she caught me between projects and gave me this beautiful yarn; she knows my favorite color is red! Sitting around the table at the yarn shop, she got me started on my first pair of socks. I was talking to one of the other knitters about who we were going to give socks to, and Marly said, "I hope you are making these for yourself!" I wou...

Did you notice I've been absent? We've had some technical difficulties here, and were without technology for a week. My, it was nice; the phone did not ring in the middle of dinner - for eight days! And now, my first ever give-away, yet not in the traditional sense... I got this from a recently-made friend, Dawn. {The Rules} 1. Be one of the first THREE (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?! 2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway! 3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought that Co...

For Mother's Day, we bought BFJ's mom a tadpole for her pond.... This guy is already a resident!

Everything's greening up around here! We have not planted much yet, but look forward to some yardwork this week. I mowed the lawn yesterday, first time ever. I borrowed the mower from the neighbor, and he gave me a few suggestions. This experience has definitely improved my opinion of the man who usually does this type of work around here! So far, we've planted peas, first picture below. Every morning, the Bruise and I go out to count how many there are. It started out as one, two, seven... Now we are up to 49! I am hoping for a nice little green screen in this area of the yard. A giant cottonwood looms a few feet away. If I could somehow get that tree cut down for free, I would do it. This is the sunniest spot in the yard, and for some reason, it didn't immediately occur to me to put the garden here, so I never did. Maybe next year we'll get around to getting rid of the tree! chives allium - I'll have to take a better picture where you can see the scale sweet w...

I've been saying I was going to cut my hair, and I finally did! Here's what it looked like last Sunday: And now today: I just got it done; I'm still getting used to it, but I know I'm going to love it. And while I was waiting for my turn at the salon, I finished my toasty gloves, which I LOVE, and which are so simple, you should make some too. They make it more bearable that May Day is "45* with an 80% chance of rain."