Some of mom's lilies.  They are still vibrant and healthy.  They are also the home of  our pet cemetary.  All of my parent's furry kids are buried here and some of ours too.

 The angel is from mom's funeral.  Aaron wanted it so we've had it all this time.  He agreed it was time for it to have a new home.  Strange as it may seem, I find comfort everytime I see her.

 Picking figs from a ladder is so much fun.  Definitely cutting these trees back a bunch this winter.  Tons of figs this year.  I think Rick has frozen about 8 gallon bags already.  He and daddy love fig preserves.  Since they only come in during a limited yet busy time of year he freezes them and then makes preserves in the fall or winter when things slow down.  I want to try making some fried pies with them but there just isn't enough time right now.

It's a busy time of year but we enjoy it.     I haven't had time to sew today so I think I'll go do a little of that now.

Remember, live, laugh, love.

Last night's supper.   Rick created a sauce for shrimp that was heaven.  It was heavy cream with butter and olive oil.  Don't say it.  We're on vacation.  You get to break the rules once in a while.  The other dish is okra gumbo over rice.  Okra gumbo is something my mom made.  It is tomatos and okra cooked together with S&P and maybe chile powder..  You can add other veggies like corn, onion, garlic, etc.  Front and center is my homemade bread.  I finally found one that I like and can make.  It's also good toasted with butter. 

These are some more blocks given to me.  Someone in the family was painting the state birds.  So I am now making a blanket with them.

 No matter how much I do the math, I still want to lay them out and look at my plans as I go. 

May I share that I hate this iron.  Hate, hate, hate.  I spent some big bucks (for me anyway) on an iron last fall.  It broke about 2 months ago. The one in the picture is my compromise.   I hate paying for a name brand and it doesn't last.  What makes me angry is that I threw away my old iron because it leaked a little.  I sure wish I had kept it.

I saw on FB that an aunt of mine lost her a/c today and the repair man cannot come until 7/3.  We are in southern Texas which tells you a lot.  For those of us who have had to live without an a/c or power due to a hurricane I have a little tip.  Obviously this is for people who cannot run to a hotel and stay for various reasons.  Buy 1 of those cheapy window units.  Depending on your house and the amount of people choose the best area for living.  Slap that unit in a window, seal it the best you can, close the rest of the house off, and get ready to survive.  You won't be cold but you will survive.  After Ike, we went 13 days without electricity.  The generator was rotated around our refrigerator and freezers.  But at bedtime the window a/c was turned on and we were able to sleep.  Just a thought.  

Remember the last post about getting healthy.  I take 1 step forward and hubby moves us 2 steps back.  This was today's breakfast.  The fresh tomatoes and sauted okra with onions was a good idea.  I don't think the homemade pork sauasage with gravy and french fries should have been on the same plate.  FYI - the plate below is mine.  You don't want to see hubby's.  It could be called "watching the arteries harden faster".  P.S. I didn't eat all of this.  The more you eat fresh the less you want of the the fried heavy things.  It's just amazing.

Those beautiful tomatoes only needed a tiny smidgen of S & P.  After hubby ate the tomatoes he gave me the bowl with all the juice to drink.  I was in heaven.  I think I might start making my own V8 juice.   Well V - Something.

Saw my sis and bil today.  She was getting rid of a bed frame we could use.  I took them a basket of  veggies.  I can't explain how good it feels to us to share something we have grown.  It's like how I feel when I give away some of my homemade things.  Maybe the receiver doesn't get it but it makes me feel good that I could make something with my hands that someone else could use.

Well, it's time to get ready for blue Monday.  Remember to live big, love lots, and dream.

I have been very diligent for most of 2012 about not spending any money other than what we have to.  There's several reasons.  We want to move within a year so we don't need more things.  I want to put every penny I can towards our debts so we can be debt free.  Last but not least I am going to have to be off work for 2 months without a paycheck after a procedure I must have.

But I did finally splurge.  I've been watching this item for awhile and finally got a good price.  I want to learn to make good wheat and spinach pasta.  If I succeed, then my spinach this fall will be going into the freezer.  I did try them out today.  Boy, I am definitely an amateur.  I will not show you pics because my pasta was so bad.  It looked like raggedy strings not pasta.  Tasted good but looked like ****,  ya know?

Since I'll be housebound for awhile I need to have some reading material.  This is the stuff to read for fun.

  Next are my serious books.   I bought these last year when Rick was diagnosed with some health issues.  He didn't stick with changing his diet.  Well, now I'm sitting on the borderline of high cholesterol.  So I'm trying to learn how to eat better.  You would think that since we each so much fresh fruits and vegetables, that this would not be a problem. 

I have to agree that the person who said getting older wasn't for cowards definitely hit the nail on the head.

A couple more surprises will arrive next week.  I ordered the Kitchenaid ice cream maker.  Can't wait.  Rick loves ice cream and I love sorbets.  Another book about ice creams/sorbets/gelatos.  And a thundershirt for Lil Bit.  Bless her heart, one night it was so bad we had to put her in the guest bathroom.  She just couldn't control herself.  After a couple of hours of barking we had to get some sleep for work.

Time to go again.  Another big day tomorrow.  Lots to get done.

Live, Love, Dream Big! 

deb



Our little Sunny.  He is close to being 14 yrs old.  He doesn't leave the backyard anymore.  And gets canned food everyday.  Yeah, he's getting the special treatment. 

He and Lucky came to us the same week.  I have pics of Lucky carrying Sunny around by the nape of his neck.  I guess Lucky (male dog) thought he had to be Sunny's mom and take care of him.  They were our first pets after a long gap of none.

I love leaves.  Their shape and veins.  This is a lily leaf from mom's lilies.

I've always wanted to do a blanket with a fig leaf quilt design.  We love figs and something about their leaves just makes me smile.  Silly I know.  It's hard to explain but I have to work really hard to find peace and calm in my life.  Feeding the birds and enjoying something as simple as leaves help me find that. 

Rick's getting overwhelmed so I am trying to get back into the kitchen again.  Tomorrow night I will trying canning again for the first time in years.  Health issues a few years ago stopped me from cooking.  While I have been the kitchen cleaner and can cook familiar things I've had to stay away from things that must be done by taste.  My taste buds are screwed up.  Granted, canning doesn't necessarily require a good taste bud but Rick just wouldn't give it up.  I think he's is worried I will screw things up.  That's a serious issue when it's something that you had to till the soil, fertilize the soil, plant the seed, water or dig drainage ditches (depending on mother nature), and then pick the veg while fighting bugs, dogs, and just plain old time. 

Time to go.  Thank god (yes I do) that tomorrow is Friday.  We are so grateful for our jobs, yet we so enjoy our time away from work together.  We are blessed.

Hey guys, meet Ellie.  Well, that's what we call her when we aren't calling her "hey girl".  She is a little sweetheart.  Say a prayer (if you believe) that we find her a home soon.  She can't stay at work forever.  Eventually we'll have to take her to the pound.  I think she would love to be with kids.

Did you notice that her nose is shaped like a black heart?  We all have fallen in love with her eyeliner.  Those eyes are just gorgeous.

She's definitely still a puppy.  She plays, loves chew bones, and only gets in trouble once in a while.  She has been in the office with us for 2 weeks and has not had an accident.  So I think we can consider her housebroken. 

Gotta go.

Our Jack is a sweet heart.  Another pup has shown up at work and we really don't need another one.  If she would fit at dad's we would do it.  We just don't think she would and 4 at our house is over the top.  She's a boxer, lab, and pit mix.  She has attitude and personality.  Jack would love her.  Say a prayer for us to help us decide what to do.  I'll take my camera tomorrow and take some pics of her.

While trying to take pics of the birds in the back yard this weekend I accidentally caught a blue jay in flight.  Right now we have 2 males and 1 female in the area.  Blue jays are down right mean.  Even the mockingbirds give way to them.  I really miss my woodpeckers.  I haven't seen them in years.  I did see one at our park we go to at lunch this year.  But it never got close enough for pictures.  We used to have one here at the house.

Jack, the Human Whisperer.  He throws his head back and the human falls in love.  Again.   And Again.  He has the power.   Not!  But we let him think he does.

Happy Monday.  Work sucks but life is wonderful.  Smile.

Another busy weekend.  I found a receipe for squash pickles so we are trying them. 

They are a refrigerator pickle.  I'll let you know in a couple of days what they taste like.  Rick only planted 6 squash plants but we are still getting too many squash. 

Blanched tomatoes for canning tomorrow night.  The beginning.

The result.

We'll be canning okra gumbo.  Basically it's tomatoes, onions, okra and garlic.  My mom made this dish from scratch.  She seasoned it with salt, pepper, chili powder, added corn, etc.  Rick cans it without any seasonings and it tastes very similiar to mom's.  I just don't understand that but it is wonderful.

Rick's canned green beans and mustard greens taste like they were cooked on the stove with a bit of ham/bacon yet they didn't and are wonderful.  I find that amazing.

The weekend flew by again.  But more dents in house cleaning were done.  Another box for Goodwill.  And garden things were taken care of . 

Rick cooked a pork butt on the pit for 24 hrs.  It is great.  We'll be eating that for a few days.  I made his bread again and it worked this time.  It's a flat bread with a hard crust and really soft inside.  He loves it.  

I also ordered seeds today for the fall garden.  It seems never ending but it's very fulfilling.  We know we could survive without stores and that is awesome.  Yet that is not our first choice. 

Rick's garden is coming in late.  But my oh my, he's has a lot of tomatoes.  I haven't seen the garden in several weeks and I was shocked.  His plants are just loaded.  We've had lots of tomatoes over a long period but this time his plants are so loaded they can't stand up even with all the support he has for them. 

We'll can some tomorrow. 

Don't you just love those green orbs?  Soon they will be juicy red fruit.

I was taking a pic of the crepe myrtle and got Rick with his furry children in the background.

Wherever he goes they follow.  Daisy is right behind him.  The blurry black spot in the middle is Jack and Ruby is to the left.  Lil Bit is in the house with PawPaw sucking up A/C and getting dog bones.

I lasted long enough to pick the okra.  I will be so glad when I am back to normal.  I'm not pulling my fair share of the weight and do not like it.

Aaron came by after we got home to pick up his mail and visit.  I made a box cake for him and Rick.  Trying to get food off the shelves before we move.  I also made more bread dough.  Last week I made it with yeast that expired 8/12.  It just didn't rise.  I don't know if I screwed up or it was the yeast.  If this batch turns out I'll share pics tomorrow.

Time to crochet and be lazy.  Have a good weekend.

Since I'm trying to get well we figured it was best that I stay indoors.  Poor Rick got stuck with mowing our lot and daddy's place yesterday, normally I do it.  I only left the house once to pick up my meds. I spent today cleaning, laundry, baking, etc. and doing some embroidery.  It was a nice way to rest when I got to feeling crappy.  I wanted to stay up all day since I didn't sleep well last night.  I was afraid that if I took a nap today I wouldn't sleep tonight.  Rick went back out to daddy's to  weed eat and work on our storage building today.  He took the girls and Jack.  They are wore out from running. 

I keep digging into tubs.  I found this panel I did awhile back.

The deer are cute.  They are the entire family.  Buck, Doe, Fawn.  Not sure what I am going to do with these.

The redwork little girls will be a blanket.  Unfortunately we don't have little girls in our lives.  Most we know are over 8 and might be offended by a "little" girl blanket.

But it's something I need to work up and give away. 

Just trying to get things done, clean house, get rid of unnecessary stuff.  Even with all the health issues/surgery, we still hope to move this fall and put the house on the market.

Today's bounty minus the pinto beans.  Definitely not as good as years past but we've had more on our plate this year than normal.  Due to weather the garden was late and of course the heat is already taking it's toll. 

Rick loves the "no knead" bread so I made some dough up for him.  He loves the crunchy crust and soft bread inside (left).  I made some with wheat flour for me (right).  I may do some loaves with mine.  He loves the original recipe where you cook it in the iron dutch oven.

We also have a lot of squash frozen/canned so I'm trying to find healthy ways of using them. 

Without boring you and going into great detail, I discovered I have some health issues while trying to get medical clearance for a hysterectomy.  On top of that, my surgery was canceled due to me getting sick a couple of weeks ago with what I thought was allergies.   My PCP informed me yesterday that I was lucky I didn't have pneumonia (well bite me, I didn't know I was that sick) and proceeded to give me 2 shots (she never gives shots) and did I mention how much I hate needles?  So I guess my simple blog about gardening (vegetables) and sewing and our dogs will now add in some healthy crap.  The muffins above are my first adventure into finding something healthy for my heart with yellow squash.  We live in Texas.  It's almost impossible to have a bad year of squash or zucchini. 

Oh, two more dogs have showed up at work.  Rick said no, I couldn't take them home.  One is a puppy, albeit a rather large puppy.  He did try taking the puppy one evening to meet Daisy.  The puppy was horrible to Daisy so he took her back to work.   

Okay this doesn't totally catch me up but it's a start. 



I've been trying to stay busy.  I'm trying to finish some of my quilt tops.  I don't get to actually quilt like I want, because I don't have time.  The one on the left is a floral.  The one on the right is a string quilt.

The floral is just a "tie" quilt.  But I did bows so hopefully they stay for a while.

 As I look at the string I see jacket I made in high school.  A blouse of my mom's.  A really old piece that had to belong to one of the great aunts.

I've had some health issues and have spent a lot of time getting the house ready for me after surgery.  I have also been trying to finish projects and find new projects I could work on while recovering.

Most of this stuff I just give away.  I think my family is starting to get tired of it.  Everybody has a hobby.  Mine is tinkering with fabric, thread, and yarn. 

I'm trying to get caught up on posts/pictures so you might see another post today.

Trifecta.  I got all three of my main birds in one shot. 

 The Blue Jay, the Cardinal, and the Dove.

                                        
                                                                Nice!!