A FUN COLLAGE

I've been playing around with Picasa making some collages lately. Here's one of them.

SO ANYWAY, I WAS SAYING . . .

I didn't realize my whole blog didn't print last night. So here's what I was saying:

There is a Congressman from Louisiana that I love! He has proposed a House resolution that I'd like to call "What's good for the goose is good for the gander!" It's House Resolution 615. You may not know this but while all the politicians are changing up our healthcare they are exempt from anything they are doing to ours. They have their very own, very premium insurance for life that will be absolutely unaffected by what they do to ours. Same for the President. So this Congressman-John Fleming has offered up this resolution and asked all of our legislators to sign it. The paragraphs below are taken from his official website and explain more.

House Resolution 615

As of July 30, 2009, over 150,000 Americans from all 50 states have joined Congressman Fleming in supporting House Resolution 615. Sign the online petition and send a message to Congress - If You Vote For A Government Take Over of Health Care, Then Promise To Use The Plan!

Under the current draft of the Democrat healthcare legislation, members of Congress are curiously exempt from the government-run health care option, keeping their existing health plans and services on Capitol Hill. If Members of Congress believe so strongly that government-run health care is the best solution for hard working American families, I think it only fitting that Americans see them lead the way. Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating. Together we will work to ensure that any plan that is good enough for American families is good enough for every member of Congress.

Together we will work to ensure that any plan that is good enough for American families is good enough for every member of Congress.

There is a list on his website of the members of Congress and Senate who have signed it. So far no Senators have signed it and far too few Congressmen. If they don't have enough faith in what they are planning for us to use it; I don't want them forcing it on me.

You can see all this info on Congressman Fleming's website at http://fleming.house.gov

Well, that's the end of my rant for now! I'm sure there will be more later.

MY HEALTHCARE RANT

I am really frustrated with our congressmen and senators and this whole healthcare mess! The fact that they are even considering a vote without having the legislation finalized and without reading it makes me so mad! Not only that but we should have a chance to read it and know what is in it as well--and a chance to respond to them about it so they can do what WE SENT THEM THERE TO DO--REPRESENT US!

There is a website up with a pledge for congressmen and senators to sign saying they will do just that-READ the healthcare bill before they sign it. Do you know that only 98 of some 500 and some legislators have signed it. They have all been asked to sign it multiple times. The arrogance of those we have sent there who plan to vote on this important bill without reading it is remarkable to me. We should throw them all out in the next election.

If you would like to take a look and see if your congressman (or woman)or your senator has signed the pledge go to www.pledgetoread.com

The other thing happening at the same time is that someone

WEEDING THE GARDEN

I've been needing to weed the garden for a week or more. I've been putting it off because the temperatures have been over 100 for that whole time. Tonight I finally went out around 8:00 p.m. and spent an hour on the weeds. Carly went with me and tried to be helpful. She watched what I was doing (pulling weeds out of the ground) and started doing the same thing. We only have two flowers currently ready to bloom and of course Carly honed in on those two and started tearing off those blooms. I caught her before she got the last bloom off my pretty lily that was about to bloom but she went back to it two different times and almost got it those times, too. Good thing I'm quick! She had the right idea--just the wrong plant!

She really liked playing in the garden, er, dirt! We had to throw her in the tub when we came inside. But she was a happy, dirt-y baby!

BACK TO SCHOOL SO SOON?

It doesn't seem possible that Summer has gone by so quickly but sure enough I have the high school registration papers to prove it. They came in the mail the other day. I couldn't believe it. Time to register my teenager, buy books, school clothes, soothe away the jitters. Gosh, only a few weeks left and she's off to school again. It seems like only a few weeks ago that she got out for the summer. It's been nice having her around during the day. I am going to miss that! So is Carly--big time! She gets upset if Julie goes downstairs or outside to get the mail without her permission. Going to school without her is not going to go over big! Carly is so much more aware of what is going on around her now! This should prove interesting. Anyway--back to school here we come!

GRANDMA AND CARLY

Carly likes her Grandma! These are some pictures we took during our recent visit. Carly also likes her blanket as you can see. It's her woobie and she loves to suck on the corners of it. Yeah, I know, gross! We wash it a lot!

DOGS AND FIREWORKS

My husband and his brother love to set off fireworks--especially around our dogs. Not because it scares the dogs but because the dogs like to bark at the fireworks and chase them. It is actually pretty funny to watch. They get some really good exercise and seem to have a good time, too. I wish it were light enough out at the time to take good pictures. It's not, but I took a couple anyway to try to give you an idea of what they do. These are just ground fireworks we set off. If you look close you can see the dogs in the photos. The first one just has Tashie our black lab in it. The second has Tashie, and Sadie, our Collie/Lab mix. Happy Fireworks! Enjoy!

JULIE AND THE CATWALK

This is the waterfall on my grandparents farm. It was a magical place to grow up. The catwalk was always the challenge and we knew we were pretty grown up when we had been able to successfully tackle it. For us it was a rite of passage.

My Mom would have preferred that we never went near it--but it was way too tempting for kids who were watching their older cousins go back and forth across it. The catwalk is about a two inch ledge where you can put your feet--er, uh, toes and its across the top is wall of shale rock that you don't dare trust to hold onto. If you do hold onto it for safety, you will most likely find yourself holding a rock that has come off of a rock wall and losing your balance at the same time. In order to cross successfully you just have to lean your whole body into the wall and shimmy across.

Were you to fall from the catwalk, it is a drop of about twenty feet into more jagged rocks. So, you don't want to fall. I had told Julie about it and she really wanted to cross the catwalk and I thought it would be cool to teach this rite of passage to my daughter.

I was very careful and explained all the precautions to Julie. I went all the way across and came back to get her so she could see how to do it. However, as I took her across I experienced the same fear I'm sure my mom used to have when we would get on the catwalk.

As we got almost halfway across Julie screamed and nearly jumped. Her body jolted backward a bit and scared the living daylights out of me. Why did she scream, you ask? That's what I asked--because she nearly lost her footing and could have fallen. It was a Daddy-long legs spider that made her scream. She doesn't like bugs. I calmed her down by telling her the spider didn't have a mouth big enough to bite her and that there were a million more bugs where she was putting her hands so she'd better get used to it. What would really hurt would be to fall from that height so she should concentrate on where her feet are and keeping her body against the rock. Forget about the bugs.

My original plan was to take her over and back on the catwalk but she was more worried about the bugs the whole way over than about falling and thus, scared me to death, so we went back a whole different way! I wanted us to live to tell the story!

MEMORIES . . .

This picture kind of makes me sad. Right where my family is standing is where we used to play croquet when I was little. It's basically the side yard of my grandparents house--that is if it was still standing. It burned down several years ago now. It was a wonderful place to be. I wish it was still there. Although, part of its magic was my wonderful Grandma and Grandpa. So, even if it was still standing there would be an emptiness. But--Oh,the memories . . . the wonderful, amazing, memories.

CARLY LOVED ALL THE ANIMALS WE SAW ON THE TRIP

We went to my cousin Sheila's house for dinner and this little horsey was a big hit, not to mention the fantastic food and great conversation!

SISTERS, SISTERS . . .

This is a picture of my mom and her sisters. Aren't they cute? We celebrated July 4th at a big family get together. We had lots of food, fun and fireworks--oh yah, and we got rained out on the 4th so we celebrated on the 5th!

L. to R. Louise, Kaye and Carolyn (my Mom)

MAMA, I NEED SOME SHADE!

Carly's newest thing is to grab any pair of sunglasses she can find and put them on. She didn't just find these ones laying around, she dug them out of my purse and I tried to wrestle them away from her. You can see I am having lots of luck! What a little pill! Gee, I love this pill!

MY LITTLE POSER

This is Carly in my parents back yard. My uncle Seth caught her enjoying the flowers. We had such a fun time visiting with everyone. Carly got to meet family for the first time and though she was shy at first she warmed right up! We loved seeing everyone!

EATING FROM THE GARDEN--YUMMY!

This is the first year I have ever had a vegetable garden and I love it! For dinner tonight Julie and I picked zucchini and banana squash, swiss chard and lettuce. The tomatoes and peppers, green beens and beets aren't quite ready yet. But we took what was ready and made a lovely dinner with them.

I made spaghetti sauce with zucchini and banana squash instead of meat and it was really good. I also steamed some of them just to eat as well. I boiled the swiss chard (it tastes like spinach) and then you serve it with vinegar or butter. We made a great salad with the leaf lettuce we grew. It was just really fun to eat from our own garden.

I was going through pictures from our trip today and found a cute one of Julie and Carly. I'm in it too, trying to hold Carly on the Carousel. We stopped to eat and let the girls have a walking break on our drive home. We were at a mall and inside they had this fun carousel. Carly was so excited to get on it--but once it started moving it was all I could do to keep her on the saddle.

The Cousin Reunion or The Return of the Motley Crew

This is our mini-cousin reunion photo. There were only 7 of us there to photograph but there were a few others that came around while I was there. All together there are 19 of us. Sadly a few years ago we lost our cousin Bill to a fast moving cancer. So there are only 18 of us living. You know, you never get used to things like that happening--especially when they happen within your own family to people you love. We have always been a fairly close group. But once everyone grew up we kind of went our separate ways and it's been awhile since we have all been in one place. It was really nice to see each other and catch up again. I just wish more of us could have been there. Love you guys!

. . . AND WE'RE BACK

Sorry for the delay in posting eveyone (yah, like I have a bunch of fans out there!) anyway, our hotel Internet wasn't working most of the time and since we got home Sunday night I just haven't been able to start my engine. It's beginning to turn over a little bit now--so I'm expecting it to start any time now. Hee hee.

Let's see--where to begin. We had a terrific time with family. It was WAY TOO SHORT! We had a small cousins reunion. I say small because not everyone was able to make it but those of us who were had a good time. I will post some pictures of it later.

Tonight I have to show you the coolest thing in the world--at least to me. My grandmother was a seamstress. She could sew anything and she didn't even need a pattern. Anyway, I was packing up a lot of my parents things and my mom came across some of the clothes she had worn as an infant and toddler that her mom had made for her. A little hat she had knitted, a glove and a top she made. As I was carefully repacking these items I got to looking at the little top. It was in perfect condition with the exception that it needed it's button sewn back on and the button was with it. Other than that it looked brand new. Julie sewed the button back on and I had a thought. It was made for a toddler. My mom had worn it when she was about Carly's age. I mentioned it to my Mom and she gave me the go ahead. So, we tried it on Carly and it looked adorable.

I won't tell you my Mom's age--but here we have a grandmother and a granddaughter who both wore the same shirt as toddlers. For one it was made by her mother--for the other it was made by a great grandmother she will never meet in this life.

Well, when I got it on her it was more than I could take in and the tears started to come. I loved and adored my grandmother and I still really miss her. To see my little daughter in something she sewed that had been so well preserved was like having her there holding and rocking my daughter--something I would have given the world to have happen. She loved all of us kids so much and I know she would have adored mine, too. I'm sad she didn't get to meet them but I know she sees them now and approves. I love you Grandma.

O.K. well, I said I wouldn't tell you my mom's age and I won't, but I'm going to post some pictures of Carly modeling this top my Grandma made-and I have to give you a little bit of an idea of its age just because it is so amazing how well kept it is. The top is more than 60 years old. Can you believe that? It really is a treasure. Well, here's a peek!

HOME, SWEET HOME

There's nothing like coming back to a place you haven't lived for 20 or 30 years and hanging out with your cousins and aunts and uncles and friends. I've been back to visit many times but others have moved away too so they haven't always been here when I've visited. However, several of us made a special effort to come at the same time this time and it has been really nice to see each other and catch up. I've missed my family. I love my family. It's strange how we got all spread out and for so long without meeting back up again. But this has been a happy gathering and I'm so glad I could be here for it. I love you guys!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

After several hours in the car today we took a break and let everyone out for a few minutes to goof around--and as you can see they did! We found a great spot near a small tributary. It was really pretty and very relaxing--at least for those few moments.