Rainy days

Please click and enlarge all photos to really get the feel of this day!

If you enlarge the photo above, you can see the rain. This little fellow was shy. It was raining to hard to leave my window down, so you see raindrops on the window. And I took a couple of him, but he would try to get behind his mama. So, decided to go on and not scare him.
We were happy to have time to take a drive over to Arthur, Illinois today. That is Amish Country. It never stopped raining once this whole day long. Not even sure if it has quit now. I wanted to go to a quilt shop, to look for some orange fabric.
On the way home, we took some side roads and seen so many foals. One farm had lots and lots of horses/mares with foals. The only thing with driving over there is there is never any room to pull off the road, and there is always light traffic even on the back roads. So there was no way to count how many there were. I know at least 50-75 grown horses, and a bunch of young ones. Just amazing to see.
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Then, I came home and got on here and have been emailing back and forth off and on all night with my one of my best friends who also happens to be my sister-in-law. Looking at old, old pictures Neal scanned and shared with us. From our childhood. You can see one of them here. My friend is married to my brother George.

Each of my brothers is special to me...I would have done anything for George. I am not sure when that started....not even sure just why I was that way by him but I was. He was just my hero. That about says it all.

Neal was the one I always got to read me stories before I learned to read. I also remember going to the barn with him to milk some times. He could take a full bucket of milk and swing it all the way around--and not spill any. I am talking swinging it overhead, and it upside down. I thought that was magic I guess.

And then there was Robert...he teased me and aggravated the living daylight out of me. Anything he could do to make me yell, or get mad...he done. I can't even remember what all he done now...I just remember flying mad at him. Our mom just let us fuss, and would tell me if I would not respond, that he would quit. And I suppose she was right. I can remember him taking a handful of cockle burs and rubbing them in my hair. He called me Molly simply because at that time I hated the name...he even called me that in his sleep.

Yet we did things together... he had friends come and spend the day and sometimes all night and he always let me tag along in whatever they did. He never tried to get our mom to make me stay home. I was just one of the gang. I cannot even remember what all we done, I just remember being glad they came. I think we used to go to this dump and shoot B-B guns at cans and bottles, etc, and I think we would go and find grapevine swings to swing on.

And Robert was always working on something...if I would have been a willing helper I could have learned a lot. Instead, as I got older I did not want to help him on his go cart or his cars. Now I think how dumb I was not to paid attention and learned how to do stuff.
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There just aren't too many photos of us growing up...a few taken by visitors and a few school pictures. We didn't even get those every year. I have two yearbooks from high school...I may be the only one of us kids to have yearbooks from high school. And there are a few pictures like the one below that my older sisters or someone has taken. And yes, that is me below.

Dragonfly

I know I posted a picture of a dragonfly very, very similar to this last Saturday, but I like this one so much better. It was taken today, at a totally different place. We went on a short drive and I took this near Big Raccoon Creek.
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We have had really nice weather this week....two or three of the days I actually needed to leave Lorelei in her sleepers because it never got much over 70°F, if any at all. I didn't have her today since her mom and dad got the day off.

I have told you how she grins and laughs at our old dog, Shelby. Well, yesterday, she noticed her panting and started laughing about that. I was in my chair and Shelby was out to the left of me. I don't know what possessed me, but I put the mirror over on my right till she could see herself. First she would look at Shelby and either grin or laugh...then she would twist way around and look at herself in the mirror and grin real big. She did that over and over.

I have also told you how Shelby is by her and how she has relaxed a lot about it...well, one day, I had the door to her room pushed till it was almost closed when she was taking her nap. Shelby started going to it wanting in, and looking back at us. We looked at each other and thought 'she's awake' and went in there and sure enough she was in there just looking around and stretching, etc. Not crying or anything. Shelby would sure have made a good mommy...but if we had let her have puppies it would probably have broken her heart to give them up.
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For supper tonight we had grilled chicken breasts. And I thought I would tell you what makes them so delicious....it is McCormick Broiled Steak Seasoning. Yes, I mean steak....I think they have come out with something for grilled chicken but they are just so good with this stuff.

All you do is take skinless, boneless chicken breasts and sprinkle them liberally with the Broiled Steak Seasoning and cook on the grill. We also will brush them with butter midway through. I have a tendency to cook them overdone, but Roger is real good at cooking them till they are done completely but still juicy. I usually butterfly the breast till it won't be so thick through.

They are delicious in a salad, or for a sandwich. Or I prefer them just plain.

Want to come sit a spell?

Has anyone missed me? Nothing is wrong...my niece came down Monday and just left this morning. I just couldn't seem to get on here to visit or to do a post.
I so wish I could have a visit from an old friend or two--and that we had a fireplace or a stove to sit beside. I am just lonesome for them. And there is nothing better in this world for me than to sit by the fire and talk. We actually had a stove, not quite as good looking as the one above when I was a kid. That was what heated our house....needless to say, the back bedrooms were plenty cool in the winter.

I think I have told before about waking up and yelling for my mom to come and get me...and she would come and take me to the kitchen with her where she cooked on an old cook stove. I have been googling and trying to find a photo similar to either the old heating stove or the wood cook stove we had and did not have any luck worth showing. I had no luck at all with a heating stove that looked like ours, but there were a couple tiny, tiny pictures of a cook stove that was similar to the one we had, but they were too small to really see any detail. So I am not going to link to them.

It was always a big deal in the spring/summer when the decision was finally made that we could take the heating stove down because the weather was finally warm enough till we wouldn't need it any more. I vaguely remember my brothers wrestling with it to get it outside...I had the impression that it was really heavy but not sure if I am right or not. I think we got a wood furnace when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so my memories of the stove are sort of vague.

I do remember them having to be careful with the stovepipe....not wanting to get soot everywhere. The funny thing is, I have no recollection at all of when it was put back up in the fall...none. What I always remember is that we could rearrange the living room when it was taken down for the summer. Again, I know we had to rearrange the living room when it was put back up, but I don't remember that.
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Lorelei has changed since last week...hard to explain. Just more wiggly for one thing. And she is so interested in what is going on around her that she has a hard time closing her eyes to take a nap. She 'sings' just a little bit every day. Usually when she is laying across my shoulder going to sleep. It is the sweetest sound I know. After she goes home, I will think I hear her wake up and start to go get her only to realize that she isn't even here. And Roger went fishing with one of his buddies Friday, and he said all day he kept thinking he heard one of her toys!

Now, to fill in a little of what else has been happening. Since Cougar was gone that one time for so long, he stayed pretty close to home for a short while. Then he started to roam again. Still, usually home shortly after I would get up of the morn. Then, last week, he left one night was not home the next morn, and did not come home all day....I really did not expect to see him again. As hot as it was, I just did not see how he could survive getting locked in some hot garage.

But after the second night, I looked out the back door, and there he was. Sooo skinny. Nothing but skin and bones...he had lost weight after that first time, but now you could feel and see every bone in his body. You would never dream that he was a much loved cat. He ate two cans of catfood, and went and found a place to sleep.

Next thing I knew, I realized he had a really bad upper respiratory infection. So, took him to the vet when Saturday came and he is now on antibiotics. And he does not want to stay inside at all. He runs out if he gets half a chance.

And remember Bubbie? Since his accident, he had gotten back to normal. One of the most curious cats I have ever seen. The other day, I walked into Roger's fly-tying room, and I have two bookshelves in there that are over 7 ft. tall...he was up on top of them. I think the only thing he hasn't been on top of is my china cabinet and that is because it has never struck his fancy.

Anyway, he basically has been sleeping inside of the day and spending the night out. No matter when I go out, he is usually laying on the front porch or back porch. He doesn't venture far. So, I was surprised Monday morn...he wasn't waiting at the door but he did come in just a second. And he was slinking in, looking back over his shoulder like something was after him.

He went straight to our bedroom, I went and got him and brought him out to eat but he wanted nothing do with food nor water. He finally ate a couple bites yesterday, and actually came out of our bedroom once. Today, he has come out several times...but is still not himself. We cannot find any place where he has been hurt. Nothing seems to hurt him when we press and feel of his body. So your guess is as good as mine as to what has happened to him. I guess he will slowly be back to normal.

I guess I best be going to give Cougar his medicine...before I totally forget!