She came, she conquered...

Lorelei got to play with bubbles today...well, she and I played with them. I think I have as much fun as her.
She was not in the mood to have her picture taken...

though she didn't mind if I shot while she was actually blowing them. But they all look the same almost, so only showing the one...

She had so much fun...she would blow and then just crack up with laughter.
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Sarah was hosting a bridal shower in a town near here Saturday, so when it was over we met her there and picked up Lorelei. I do not even know if I could think of all she done, but the beginning of our days together got off to a grand start.

We had not even got pulled away from the parking lot till she was telling her papaw to 'Stay between the lines! You are supposed to stay between the lines!" Well there were no lines...

I guess I didn't tell last week she was with her mom and daddy going somewhere and her dad was driving and she was telling him "Don't cross the white line, Daddy! You are supposed to stay between the lines!"

So, she started with that and had me in tears from laughing so hard...I called her mom to tell her, and Roger said tell her we are bringing her back. Well, I hung up and Lorelei said, "I don't want to go home....I want to go to your house!" I had to explain to her that papaw was just teasing her mom.

So, continuing on, we get through town and get back out to where the speed limit is 55, and she starts telling papaw he is speeding!

We have no idea where she learned about staying between the lines...or the speeding, either for that matter.

She spent two nights with us, and I just met her mom half way between...and almost the whole way there, she was wanting me to take her to school. She wants to go to a red school, too. I told her she would have to talk to her mommy--that she needed to be a little older. She told me she was older...she is 3 now...and she told me she already had talked to her mom and her mom said yes, she could go to school!

Harry Evans Bridge....

The gate that was featured in yesterdays post is right past this covered bridge on the right side. A few years ago, to the left of the bridge, culerts were laid and concrete poured to make another way over the creek....I have always assumed for farm machinery to be able to get back and forth quicker.
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It was on the cool side today...one that required me to put on a long sleeved shirt when I went outside to hang some laundry.

I just stayed home today...doing some laundry and started trying to clean up my sewing area. I have really dreaded starting on that. But a dent was made in the mess. If I am working on a project, and there is a mess from it, as long as I got down there almost every day it does not bother me. But let me be away from it for a while, and I cannot stand to sew until I have it somewhat under control.

I still have to get the backing for Roger's quilt made...when he got those two weeks, I just lost all interest in doing anything and have found it hard to get back on track. But the urge to sew is hitting me, so I should make it, but I am also wanting to start something new.

We are going to meet Lorelei and her mommy tomorrow evening, and bring her home to spend the night. Then, depending on how she feels, may meet Sarah Sunday till neither of us has to make the real long drive...but if Lorelei wants to spend another night, we will try it again.

From yesterday's drive...

I passed this yesterday...had someone coming behind me so didn't want to stop. The next place I intersection I came to, I turned around and came back to get a couple shots.
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I haven't did much of anything today...a little bit of regular cleaning....fixed burgers on the grill. Oh, I did a load of laundry and hung it on the line. I did spread some fertilize on the garden and Roger tilled it. I need to get out and get tomato plants. I just finished my last jar of juice and sure hope I have some good tomatoes this year.

We also need to raise plenty of bell peppers; we have used almost all we had frozen. Other than that, I want to try raising some horticulture beans again. Last year I did not get them out till late in the season and they did not do much. I think the first two year we were married plus one later on is the only years we have not at least raised tomatoes. There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes.

I don't remember quite how it happened, but when we were first married, we both worked at the same factory on the same shift...but for some reason here Roger came in from work and had a paper sack that had 8 or 10 tomatoes in it. They were small to medium sized...I think someone had sent them to me, knowing I would like them. I sat and ate every single one of them.

When we were kids, I can remember coming in in the afternoon and getting one or two and sitting and eating them and loving every bite of them....nothing has changed.

And my best friend/sister-in-law was talking today about cleaning out her jars and getting ready for another season. It brought back memories of home....

I think I have said before that our basement was not quite a dungeon, but it sure was not fixed up. It was really not even quite half a basement. There was a light at each end...a single bulb. It more or less lit up enough till you could see where you were going, but it would have been very tiring to try to read anything down there.

Across one end was we a set of shelves built to hold the canned goods. To the best of my recollections, they were about two ft deep and probably at least 8 foot in lenght....and there was at least 5 if not 6 of the shelves...the top one was over my head. Every season one of my jobs was to help go through and see if anything had gone bad, and mom would decide if some stuff was too old.

We would pour the stuff out...and then there was jar washing to be done. Plus I would have to wash down the shelves. Before winter, at least 3 of those shelves would be completely full, and the others would probably be half full. Most stuff was canned in quart jars...I don't remember if mom used pint jars for anything.

But she did have a few half gallon jars...and she even had some that held 3 quarts. I don't remember what she put in the 3-quart jars...can you imagine canning anything in an almost gallon jar? I know she canned some of the dill pickles in the half gallon jars, and maybe soup stock. Oh, and I think she canned some peaches and pears in half gallon jars.

The dill pickles I remember for sure I can remember because certain visitors always wanted a jar of them when they came to visit once or twice a year. And truth be told, a half gallon of pickles would not be too many sometimes for just me....or especially if I and my older daughter got started on one.

Now, I don't think she had that many half gallon jars and even fewer of the ones that held 3 quarts, so she canned more pickles, etc in quart jars, too. What I wondered is are half gallon jars even available now. I don't ever remember noticing them anywhere.
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No rain at all last night or today, but I did see lightning last night. Now there is a slight chance for tomorrow evening so we shall see. I won't hold my breath though.