The corn this year...

Click to expand for better viewing.

I snagged a photo of some of the corn a few days ago...this is not as bad as some, and not as good as other. Some corn I have seen has ears, other has underdeveloped ears. And still other corn didn't get far enough along to have any. I cannot help but think of the stories from the dust bowl years. I guess a few places around had some showers but none close here.

I made 3 quarts of tomato juice today. That makes a grand total of 6 quarts and 1 pint. Even if I just have enough for a quart, I am going to make it. It is just so good in the winter....the stuff that is bought just does not compare to what is homemade.
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The warning at the top of blogs has miraculously disappeared. I am glad. And hope it doesn't return.

A Ta-da and a question....

We were gone till afternoon, but when we got home, I got busy and finished this little dress. I am almost positive it will be too big for her. But she will probably be able to wear it next year.


I am still wondering what she will think of the colors...
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My question is this...do any of you have McAfee antivirus and do you get a warning when coming to my blog or any others. I get them on both of mine, and just checked and do on some of the others. Since I haven't had time to really do any blogging today, not sure if it holds true with all blogs. But each Blogger blog I just clicked on, I received the warning:

We tested this page and blocked content that came from potentially or suspicious sites...blah, blah, blah.

I do know one blog that I visit regularly, half the time when I leave her page, it asks me if I am sure I want to leave the page and then takes me to another page. Which right now for the life of me I cannot remember what it says. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is not doing anything...so is it blogger/google? The page it takes me to does not seem dangerous.

So, if you have any idea about this, please chime in, or if you have had it happen to you. As for my blog, I have not changed anything on it....so feel like it is the same with everyone else's blog...that it is just something with my computer.

EDITED: I just checked using the other computer, and it doesn't block anything. And I have McAfee on it, also. So....that leaves this computer.

And the wind did blow!

Notice how the ornamental grass is bent over....the wind was blowing full force yesterday when we were out for a drive to check the creeks we fish in. This is on what we call the back road to Mansfield.


And this is what we were in. I did not try to lighten the pictures cause this is how it was for a short, short time. The wind was so strong it had blown over a tree in the road...I should say a small tree. About 4 or 5 inches at the base. Roger was able to pull it our of the way.
At one point something hit the top of the Rav with full force...I think we both forgot to check when we got home...but I would bet it dented it or scratched it at least. We have no idea what hit us...but I would not have wanted it to hit me.

Oh, and did we ever see any rain? It takes about 5 minutes from where these photos were taken to get to Mansfield dam....while we fished, at one point several drops fell. And that was it.
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We are going to see the toot after a bit...so won't be on here much. Will try to visit later on.

How it used to be....

Our chance for rain passed us by yesterday...I heard drops hit the awning and I do mean just a few drops. I did not see any hit the sidewalk. Last night our weatherman told that we had had 13 days of temps 100º and over....and that since May 9th we had not had any significant rain....just scattered showers.

With that in mind I went back through some of my photos just to see if memories of green in July were a reality.
I found these, among others taken in July of 2008....hard to imagine things this green again.
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It did not reach 100º yesterday...the highest I seen was 98º...so that is an improvement.
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I cannot believe how slow I am in making Lorelei's dress. I didn't work on it day before yesterday but worked 3 or 4 or 5 hours on it yesterday evening/night. It was not dark when I started and it was close to 11:00 when I cam up from the basement. I am trying to be really careful. It is one that uses bias tape to finish the neck and armholes. I am not sure I like using it. I guess I will wait till after it is washed to see how it feels before I make final judgement.

On the other hand, I did drag out my serger to finish the edges. I really don't have far to go...I need to turn the bias tape to the inside and sew it down then hem and it is finished. It really is cute...at least in my opinion. I think though it will be next year before it really fits her. But she is growing so much that I could be wrong.

A girl's best friend....

Roger has been receiving this email titled 'A Man's Best Friend' and it shows soldiers and their dog. You have probably seen it...well, I got the bright idea to to do one of a girl's best friend...using Lorelei with Otto. So, I went back through and pulled a bunch together...they have all been shown on here at one time or another....except the last one and Sarah took it tonight. It was very dark...I lightened it some with fill flash....so stroll with me down memory lane.
It all started with licks and giggles...be sure to look at Lorele's hand to see Otto in action.

He became a faithful companion...

and made a good playmate...

He also had a good shoulder to lean on...

Now they use each other as a resting spot...

He is just one great big walking heart...

and his love is returned...

the only thing is he never meets a stranger...

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Still hot here...our thermometer read 108º this evening...would you believe I hung out a load of clothes between 4:30 and 5:00p.m. and they got pretty well dry by 6:30....it had a lot of Roger's socks and they felt like they might still have a bit of dampness to them, but I could say for sure. I still need to turn the dryer on. But that is the first time I ever hung out clothes that late.

A new beginning...

I always loved the line from Closing Time that says Every new beginning is some other beginning's end....well, today I finished the binding on my little 4-patch quilt....and I started a new little dress for Lorelei.

I have had the material a while...with her love of pink I was almost afraid to make it. But, when she runs out of pink dresses, she is fine with other colors. So long as it is a dress.

We met Sarah Friday and got Lorelei again...she spent the night, then her mommy and daddy came down Saturday evening and spent the night. They had plans to meet others on Sunday. So Lorelei was fine with leaving then. Not sure how she would have been otherwise. She always tells me she wants to stay and stay and stay a long, long, looong time.

I tell you there are no sweeter words than Mamaw, I want you to sit with me...or I want to come to your house...or I love you with all my heart. I cannot help but wonder how much longer she will want to sit with me. So I try to just cherish the time she is here. I don't blog, or do much other than get my email when she is here.

Evening glow from the strip pits

Another coyote at the strip pits....I would yip at him and he would look...notice the warm glow of evening light.
This is the glow as the day was ending.

It was another day of temps over 100ºF...it did cloud up this evening but not a drop of rain here.

Two by two....

No, it isn't done, but I did get the first round of sewing done on the binding. The first time it is done by machine. I thought I would show a couple pics from the front...
this one is a little bit closer...
then two shots of the back.
Notice it is not just a plain back...it isn't real fancy but it does have a little bit of interest.
I am not sure how these will show up...but you can click to expand the view. It may not seem like much considering this is only about 5 ft in length, but it sure took a lot of sewing. And came close to using a whole spool of thread...a 1000 yard spool.
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Another hot one here...over 100º here today. The thermometer actually said 106º at one point...the one that is against the house was even hotter. And the weather station said 102º...very uncomfortable outside. It is overcast and has been all evening, but it doesn't feel like rain when I went outside to take the photos of this quilt.

A couple of things...

I finished the quilting on my small quilt...I brought it up to show Roger and then laid it across the high chair. Bubbie found it first thing and claimed it as his own. He pulled it down and got in it like this...this is not staged. Though I did move it back just enough to see his head better. He laid in it all covered up for an hour or two. I will take a better view of it when I have put the binding on.

Now, I want to show you some scenes from the strip pits.
Look how brown everything is.....
this field was mowed a bit back. Doesn't this look like what you would see in the winter? They were all taken tonight.
I ran out there just to get some views of the clouds but should have went earlier.
If not for the green of the trees, this one would definitely look like late fall.

Rainbow, but no rain to speak of

We got just a little bitty sprinkle yesterday, though on our way to meet Sarah we went through actual rain. What a disappointment to come home to everything just as dry as when we left. We had a few drops later on in the evening--I happened to look out and notice the look to the sky. I went to look from the porch and this rain bow is what I saw.

So, we are still dry...and it was at 96ºF all afternoon. I hung out a load of Roger's t-shirts late this evening...they were out about an hour and were dry all except for where the clothespins were.
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We have been having a few fresh tomatoes for a few days...at first just one every now and then. Now there are a lot getting red. They are soooo good. I just cannot get all I want. Now, if I only had some fresh corn!

Still here....

The original plans were for her to go home today, but she lucked out and got to stay one more night. The only way she is going willingly tomorrow is that there is a birthday party to go to.
I just had to show you her meanie face...she can do it at will....if she can stop laughing long enough.

I would like to have half the energy this girl has....she likes to go outside to watch it get dark. We didn't really last that long either night this time. But I would like to know how many miles she ran. She ran and ran, and had us call out red light-stop and green light- go...over and over. Papaw thought to add a school zone where she had to slow down for a few feet.

And her mom and daddy got her a fishing pole with a little rubber fish tied on. She got till she could cast pretty good most of the time. And the cats played with her and it. She thought that was hilarious. I got out the point and shot to tape it, but every time I taped, she didn't laugh. The minute I stopped, there would come this spurt of giggles. They are just contagious.

That is it from our corner. It was in the 90's here today...not sure how hot. It was kind of miserable out in the sun. There is a slight chance of rain...but chances keep slipping. So am not holding my breath.

Just for fun.....

Lorelei's little song...she had her mom come listen. She taped it and sent it to me.

For a change of pace....

For a change of pace, I ran to the strip pits tonight...there just is not much moving out there. I saw one Great Blue Heron but he took off before I could photograph him....and I finally saw this coyote.
He was not too far off, but too far for my lens to capture good. This is cropped from the original. I am sure the place is full of them, but I have been going there for years and this is only the third one I have seen.
This was the scene as I left the strip pits. This is the sun, not the moon. I did try to lighten the scene...not sure how it will look on a desktop. The foreground was lighter than this, but still on the verge of being so dark you could see no details.
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My heart is full of anticipation...we are meeting Sarah Thursday to get Lorelei for the night. She has called two or three times and the first thing she says is she wants to come to our house...followed the " I love you Mamaw and I miss you!" and then she tells me she loves Papaw too and she misses him...

Sarah said Lorelei's one little friend came over the other night...it was the first time they had been together in a while. They played and played and played, and when Emily had to leave, they both cried. And Emily is 4 or 5 years old. Sarah said Emily was in their SUV, and she was standing there holding Lorelei and they were both crying telling each other they were going to miss each other.

Still more

Are you bored with this stuff? If so, I am about done with it for now. But I do want to go back when lighting is better.
I am not sure what any of these are for....
The one above looks like it is made the hold something. One would put something between those jaws and stand on the lever to hold it while working on it. It really reminds me of Roger's stitching pony.
Now the thing above--I hope some one knows what it is used for. None of us have a clue. It is made to open and fit around something. I would even welcome guesses. It would give me something to research.
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We got our break from the heat! Yesterday the hight here at our house was 97ºF! Roger and I both laughed about thinking that 97ºF was cool. And supposed to remain cool for the days to come. Even later on I think there are a couple days with the highs only being in the upper 80's.

All I want to do is sit outside and read...

Say bye-bye!

To avoid the heat of the day, we headed to Wal-mart late Thursday evening. We drove through the strip pits on the way...the sun was already gone by the time we got there. We had to struggle to see anything. And believe me, there was not much to see. We saw about half a dozen deer....normally at that time of day it is not uncommon to see 20 or 30.

We did see on Great Blue Heron in flight...and Roger spotten a pheasant out in a field. Or we assume it was one. It was too dark to see any color, but going by the profile that is what we thought it was.

I am wanting to go out there sometime late and just drive around after dark....would just love to go and sit and see what I could hear and see. A lot of the fields had been mowed....just wish they would mow them all for a change. This one field has not been mowed in years and it is a mess of weeds, but I suppose that is good for the wildlife.
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Yesterday, our thermometer read 111º at one point. I know that seems extreme but I really believe that our thermometer is right. On a positive note, today was supposed to be another hot one, but instead the break in the extreme heat has come. It is only 87º right now!

Want to go for a spin?

This is another shot from Patton's Corner. Notice the flower box on the handle bars. I suppose it is supposed to be the basket but it sure would look cute to plant flowers in it.
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The other day I read this Survivors post by Sandra..it reminded me to do this post about food.

When I was a kid, to get a can of Vienna sausages was such a treat, or a can of Campbell's soup. Bologna sandwiches were few and far between for the most part, and to have a fried bologna sandwich---well, now I still love fried bologna sandwiches. The round steak of the south--who can beat it.

Every now and then I just have to get a can of those vienna sausages, but they are just not near as good as I remember them. I always cut one in half an then break a cracker in half and that is my sandwich. You do know that there is a grain to crackers...usually you break it with the grain and it breaks without much mess but if you break it across the grain--well, if I break it across the grain I have a pile of crumbs and it is in pieces.

And then there is crackers....I LOVED crackers as a kid...still do in fact. But again, we did not always have crackers back then. Most of the time we did, but at times they were scarce. Do you remember they used to not come in tubes of the squares. Instead they were left 4 squares together? They were easily broken into 4 individual squares. Anyway, I can remember taking a package of them every now and then and hiding them! I didn't want to share I guess! I don't know why...no one else ate them like I did.

I loved to just sit and spread butter on them and eat them that way...and still do that once in a blue moon. And I loved crackers with jelly. Now Roger still has crackers with butter and jelly every time we have chili. He says that is what they always served together when he was a kid...I think at school. And I still like crackers with butter and jelly, but I don't think about having them but once or twice a year.
Then there is Campbell's soup...I never had tomato soup that I remember as a kid. Actually we had very little of it, but the only two I remember for sure having was vegetable beef and cream of mushroom. Every now and then when mom went to pick up a few groceries, she knew she would be getting home with no time to fix much dinner so she would bring home two or three cans of vegetable beef soup.

Oh, how I loved it back then. I would love to know if my brothers liked it as much as I did or if it was just something to fill their stomach. Such a treat it was. Now, I actually dislike the 'Healthy Request' version of it--I don't know what the did to it but it is some nasty stuff in my opinion. Not that I still love the original...but every now and then would get a can and have it for old time's sake.

And do they still make the little pizza kits? I think they cost a dollar...or maybe a few cents over. It came with the mixture for making the crust...I think all I had to do was add water. And it had this little can of sauce....I don't remember what or if it had some kind of meat in it. Then there was the cheese to spread on top. We thought we were in heaven if mom got one of those for me to make.

And almost ever night we popped a BIG pan of popcorn...we used a metal dishpan and it would be about half full...it was probably 18 or 20 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep. Mom would have her own little bowl, and I think one of my brothers would sometimes have one cause he laid in the floor to watch TV. We would eat it all...none left except the grains that did not even begin to pop.

Just every so often, we would make french fries for a snack...or if it was winter, before we got the furnace, we would put a potato in the heating stove...but I don't remember just how we done that. I just remember that being real treat.
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Then there is the food that instantly transports you back to another time and place. One of those for me is actual round steak breaded and fried, white rice with butter and salt and pepper, and green beans. I only fix that once in a blue moon now, but that instantly takes me back to when Roger and I lived in Tennessee. It was a favorite meal back then. And I still love it for the memories associated with it.

If we go to pizza hut and get the chocolate dunking sticks, the chocolate syrup they give us to dip them in reminds me so much of the chocolate syrup my mom made for us to dip our biscuits in.

Well, this is getting way too long...will close with telling you that it was 108ºF here yesterday afternoon, and it is expected to be almost that hot again today...one weather station predicts 105 and the other 107.

Fallen...

With the dry weather, we see a few pretty leaves that have fallen. I think we won't have a pretty fall this year. I was so hoping to have long, glorious days of color.

I have started free-motion quilting my little quilt. It is going to take me a while if yesterday is anything to go by. Plus, I am trying not to sit down there for too long of a time. Anyway, I am sort of preoccupied with that and will just be on the computer here and there through the day.

It was 107º here yesterday...we did have two rumbles of thunder that I heard but not a single drop of rain. We drove to Terre Haute yesterday and whole cornfields seem to just be drying and turning brown...and most of it not even as tall as me and I am only 5'3". Also seen a field of soy beans that we felt were dying. We have a chance of isolated thundershowers this weekend so am hoping and praying that we get some of it.

Right now this even looks good...

Not sure where to start....so will start with what is on everyone's mind: the weather. We have had days on end of temps over 100º. I thought one day that we were not going to break the 100 mark but it ended up not so. One day was 108º! Our yard is brown and crunchy and the only way the flowers and garden are living is because we water them. Right now the above photo looks soooooo refreshing.

We took Lorelei home day before yesterday, and the farms are really going to lose a lot this year I am afraid. We saw cornfields with just big brown spots in them...and other places the corn was tasseling but no silks forming at all. It was so curled up, it looked almost brittle. I have heard people talk about crop insurance. One guy the news interviewed said usually the crop insurance only pays just a bit over enough to cover the planting costs. I don't know if that is true in all cases or not....and that is better than nothing. But I still feel bad for them....
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Sarah and Lorelei came Saturday evening and Sarah spent two nights...Lorelei was not ready to go home so she stayed another night. I do not know why, but sometimes it is so easy to get the camera out when she is here and other times just seem so busy that I can't. Well, this was one of the times I couldn't so I don't have any new photos to show. But I have tales to tell!

When her mom left, we had to walk her out to the car of course...we just always do. So Lorelei hugs her, and we give her a hug and she leaves...we had to stand there and watch till she was out of sight. I set Lorelei down and we start to walk inside and she clouds up with big old tears in her eyes, and said "Mamaw, I forgot to tell mommy I love her." It would have broke your heart cause she was so sincere.

I told her we could call her if she wanted....but I told her you mommy know you love her....and that seemed to ease her mind.

We went to Walmart a bit after Sarah left to look for Lorelei a butterfly net. We also looked at clothes...she found a dress she liked but it was not in her size. She just was not interested in anything else. Tuesday we head home...she goes to the potty before leaving. But we get about 30 minutes from home, and we take back roads part of the way. So we are out in the middle of no where and she needed to go to the potty....I asked her if she could wait...she says she can.

So we head to the highway, and backtrack to a Walmart. I take her in, and we make it in time...we come back out and she tells me "Mamaw, lets go look at clothes." This is a three year old wanting to look at clothes! So we head back to them...and there are just no clothes to speak of her size, after wandering around a few minutes, I spied a rack with hardly anything on it but on the bottom is her dress...I grab it, it is the right size, and her eyes just gleam. She told me, "Mommy is going to love me in this dress!"

Rocking chair....

This is inside the cabin seen on Time Stand Still...I was amazed that the photo turned out as well as it did. Inside it is so dark that I for sure cannot see to focus, so was amazed that the camera did as well as it did.
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Sarah and Lo are here...actually they are gone to visit a friend right now. I thought I would take advantage of it and do a post right quick.

Tney had some strong winds for just a few minutes day before yesterday and were without power for over 24 hours. I cannot imagine being without AC now. I would not like it one bit, but it would really be hard for some people.