Somewhere over the . . .

Rainbow. We experienced a double rainbow after the rain on Sunday - - it was fabulous, we could see the whole thing. It started in the field east of our place:and landed in the field south of us:
DD got such a kick out of it!

Bad girl!

So, you know I'm kind of a scrapbook nut, right? And, I've really gotten into this whole blogging thing, too. Well, I'm totally indulging myself at work right now by posting while having a QVC live feed on in the background. Granted, this is "officially my lunch hour", but I still feel a little naughty . . . my girl, Donna Downey, is on right now. Lisa Bearnson was on earlier. I haven't purchased anything (yet). Spent some time scrappin' with the girls this weekend in between work commitments for the big BBQ event. We had great weather at the event site, although everything around us was getting soggy and stormed out. DH and DD drove down to keep me company and we had a nice time eating kettle korn and funnel cakes and bbq; the music was fantastic (Tabb Benoit).

Under foot

How coincidental that Kelli posts about farm cats today. I took this photo last night of how a farm kitten's life is just plain perilous Here is the Grand Dame, Leah, surveying her kingdom from the front porch. Picked peas last night under the thundering sky. Here is a photo of the tendrils shooting to the sky: Played "Barbies Go Bowling" last night with DD - - would you go bowling in this outfit?! Then, DD discovered that we can take pictures of ourselves - - let the fun begin!

Let it rain!

Finally - - some rain! Albeit cold & windy rain, I'll take what I can get at this point. Worked in the garden last night and it's lookin' good. This rain will really perk it up! DH is getting rained out at his job site - - he called me this morning and I could hear the rain pelting his truck!

After DD went to bed early last night, I spent some time sitting with the kittens

this is "Number 5", the smallest kitten:

I don't know which one this is - - three look exactly the same: And this is snowball, the mama cat:

Anyone need a kitten? Please . . .?

Where's that music coming from?

If you can't hear the new tunes on this blog, make sure your speakers are turned on. Then, scroll down to the bottom to see the video... I know, I'm a total geek. Check back to see/hear the latest tunes on "DJ LP's" hot hit list!

Daddy's Home!

DH arrived home safely on Friday evening and DD and I were both very excited to see him. I put two beers in the freezer and prepared a shrimp cocktail. Had some Papa Murphy's pizza and life was very good.

Saturday morning we ran errands in M'town and then cleaned the house. Brought our power washer over to my G'ma's and helped her clean the patio - - what a difference some high-pressure water does! My new theory is that everyone in this world should own and use a power washer; the world would be a much better place!

My mom took DD overnight and DH and I went out for dinner and cruised around the State Park. Home and in bed by 10 pm - - aren't we such an exciting couple?!

Sunday, DH put on his Father Day gift (shorts, shirt & new leather sandals) and we were greeters at church. Everyone asked where DD was of course (still with her Grammy). Mom brought DD out to our house after church, we grilled hamburgers, and had a lazy afternoon (just the way Father's Day should be).

DH left at 4 am this morning for the week (his last week on this job). Phewwwww! Will be glad when he's home again!

As requested:

Savory Mashed Potatoes
6 potatoes, peeled, quartered
4 turnips, peeled, quartered
¼ cup butter
¼ cup garlic chives
¼ cup milk
Salt & pepper to taste.

Boil potatoes & turnips until tender. Drain and mash/whip with butter, milk, salt & pepper. Add milk for desired creaminess.

Finally Friday

The Farmers Market in GC was great last night - - we sold out of produce in an hour. We had a few bags of strawberries (small but sweet), radishes, spinach, 3 dozen eggs, and 10 bags of turnips (4 per bag). Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would sell out of the turnips, but we had a recipe for Savory Mashed Potatoes that called for 4 turnips and that was what sold them. Thanks to everyone who turned out for this market - - it was great to meet some new people and get re-acquainted with some familiar faces. My mom was helping out and she gave some great ideas to try at the next Market...

DH is coming home tonight after being gone all week. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder! We actually have a date planned tomorrow night!

Still working on DD's room redux - - it is tedious (stenciling the hems of the sheets and pillow case because I couldn't find the "right" sheets and decorating the mats with scrapbook paper & embellishments) . . . but fun.

My point of view

My darling daughter, as seen rockin' out to Usher on the way home from shopping last night:
Note: do not try to take photos while driving.

We got some cool new stuff for her room. She's had the same Waverly floral print for the last three & a half years - - that's . . . like . . . an eternity for a girl to have the same decorative-type stuff. I was shocked when she decided to go for the "Hawaiian" theme, but it was truly fun. I'll post pics when we get done with the project.

Why I don't sleep at night

The garden, which is taking on a life of its own, calls me from sleep. It reminds me that I need to water, weed, fertilize, and fret over it just a little more.

The Farmers Market also wakes me from slumber, playing on my fears of not having enough produce, too much produce, how to politely explain why a customer should buy local. The Farmers Market on Saturday was not so great - - it was pouring rain and 50 degrees. We crowded 17 vendors and live entertainment into a 20' x 40' tent. Had a few people come into the tent . . . just to get out of the rain. Not our best showing. The vintage linens are a bomb this season! One of the vendors actually shipped in crates and boxes of organic produce and flowers from California and South America for this Market and she totally bombed.

The old farmhouse, which I adore, creaks & moans with the wind and I wonder how long the shingles will stay on, if the downspouts will stay put and redirect the rain away from the house.

All the crafty ideas that float around in my head - - the how-to's of the Tara Whitney's and Alie Edwards of the world.

How to protect my daughter's sensitive ears from all the swimming she does these days.

How my darling husband will manage to take care of himself while he is away from home on a bridge crew. We finally decided that commuting 1000 miles a week was just not a good idea, so he is staying in a motel near his job site.

My dear friend, Jenn, who is about to give birth to twin boys - - how is she holding up and how can I encourage her.

When I do finally manage to fall asleep, I still dream about these things . . . and a about dead chickens. Honestly, I'm not morose, but these are the things that consume me day and night.

Alie Edwards just started a new blog "What is your happiness today." I think I'll go there and re-direct my thoughts.

Photos of the garden this morning:
The chickens are very fond of the lettuce, so I had to put bird netting over it. We harvested our first turnips and peas on Sunday.
The strawberries are plentiful - - small, but sweet. I'm so glad I did successive plantings of the radishes; they're doing great!The seven varieties of green beans are coming along well, as are the four varieties of cucumber. The four varieties of potatoes were succession planted; the Pontiacs are small and some can be harvested. The "sticks" you see on the left side of the garden are the oak and hackberry trees we planted earlier this spring and they doing great. The other sticks you see between the hardwood trees and the pines are markers for the pumpkins, muskmelon, watermelon, butternut squash, and acorn squash (yum)!

Eat Local Challenge update: Sunday night, we had a ham from a neighbor's hog, peas, mashed potatoes & turnips, lettuce salad with garlic chives, jello with strawberries. Everything but the potatoes and jello were grown right here - - what a great feeling!

Barnyard Treats

The cats and chickens co-habitate nicely and they even share a pasta treat every now and then. Not sure why we ever installed the garbage disposal - - haven't used it in months!

I'm organizing a farmers market/art & craft fair tomorrow as part of the big town celebration. We have 21 vendors under two big tents plus live entertainment, car/motorcycle show, mini golf course, food, dog show, etc. Should be fun - - cross your fingers and pray for good weather!

My mom & gramma are at our farm today helping out - - gramma is working in the garden and mom is mowing the three acres. They are awesome for pitching in like this!

Major meltdown with DD last night: she is overtired and sun-sick (is that a word or an excuse for too much sun) and just had enough of late nights, early mornings, dad not being around (Mom's much bossier than Dad), and her new daycare has her swimming on Mon/Wed/Fri and field trips on the other days. She said some terrible things and I actually had to spank her for the first time in probably a year! I felt awful, but the behavior was beyond bad...oh the guilt.

Insomnia

This is what happened last night when I couldn't sleep:

The copper tag says "Together is a wonderful place to be."

I had a bunch of old data cd's that I couldn't bear to just throw away, so I made this mini album for my good friend. The "page" on the left bears the initial of the person(s) and then a photo goes on the right "page". Not quite sure how to punch a hole through all the cd's though. So, I just stapled ribbon between the pages to hold it all together.

I couldn't sleep because I was waiting on the results of the Democratic primaries - - our gal Denise O'Brien won the Secretary of Ag Nomination! I think she was totally shocked because her opponent raised a lot more money and had the "big name endorsements." Goes to show how powerful grass roots politics really are. Congrats Denise!

Finally got the sweet potato plants and some sweet onion sets in last night. It is sooooo dry here. My lawn, however, continues to grow and mock me. I have absolutely no time this week to mow, especially since DH is commuting 200 miles a day on top of working 12 hours in hot, dirty, greasy conditions (and hating it, by the way). Oh well, got one load of laundry in the washer this morning . . . maybe I should have been doing that last night. Oops...

There's a farmers market tomorrow in GC, but I think I'll save up so I can have more at Saturday's market in C. Decisions, decisions. I finally sat down to dinner last night at 9 pm: had a spinach and cheese omelet and then a little ice cream topped with strawberries. Here's where I scored BIGTIME in the Eat Local Challenge: the egg came from my chicken, the spinach and strawberries from my garden. Woo hoo!

How cool . . .

. . . is this (so wishing I had cable tv right now).

And these. Go Janna!

Some catching up to do...

Well, I can certainly tell that market season is here . . . there's little time left for much else (including blogging). The first farmers market was last Thursday - - I was out of town, so my mom and grandma "manned" my booth for me. I think they had a blast selling the radishes, rhubarb, and vintage linens. I printed up some recipe cards for a rhubarb dessert and mom & g'ma tell me that was what sold it all.

Spent Memorial Day weekend at the cabin on Norway Lake in MN and had a great time reading, relaxing, and enjoying the warm & breezy weather. It was our first vist to the cabin since DH's dad (Ken) passed away and it was tough for all of us, but we know Ken would want us to enjoy the place and celebrate his life rather than mourn his death.

My little "fish":
DH agreed to work for three weeks at the firm of an advisory board member. He commutes 200 miles a day and works nearly 12 hours. This is going to be a very long three weeks. Plus, DD has bible school this week and started at her new daycare center. Oy vay!

My '98 Jeep has been a great vehicle; it's got 142,000 miles on it and I've had it for almost 5 years (the longest I've ever owned a vehicle) without any problems. But, the tranny is starting to slip a bit, the starter needs to be replaced, and the brakes are getting worn. Yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back for me: I noticed a crack in the windshield after I ran it through the car wash. So, I drove it down to the Honda dealer and traded it for a 2002 Accord. I'd been keeping an eye out for a used Accord for about six months now and the "one" came in over the weekend. I pick it up tomorrow noon.

The kittens are doing well - - they're starting to get into that playful stage. There are four left (out of five) and one is much small than the others. I find myself rooting for that little one, although I know I should let "nature take its course." Last week I went to see two of the coolest chicks I know: my friend Diana who lives in MN and then I stopped to see Kelli on the way home. I really admire these gals: they're both incredibly creative, intelligent, caring, hard-working, and easy to be around. I always feel better after spending time with them. Trying to get Diana hooked on the "blog thing."

Spent Sunday afternoon at the local lake. Took a picnic lunch, magazines, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. (Noticed a "theme" in the photos? DD is just nuts about her new Strawberry Shortcake sunglasses. Ah, to be a little girl again... )