Friday Fifteen...

(squirrel on the roof!)


(sunshine on the oaks)


(flooded yard)


(mostly cleaned out garage)


(table project, not yet underway)


(favorite mug)


(Sarah)


(girls bunks)


(new color for the laundry room)


(Papaw's yard clean-up)


(book purging)


(kitchen in the morning)


(bird and/or cat watching)


(Papaw)


(Sarah's friend)

Riverboarding!

What is Riverboarding?

Taste the Rainbow...

We are all skittleheads now thanks to Manic Panic's Classic Cream Formula.



(Amy's redo in Shocking Blue)


(Molly's teal-mix of Lizard Green and Shocking Blue)


(Ryan, just blond for now, will be Lizard Green on the spots)


(Sarah's Hot Hot Pink, over her natural coppery red)

Blackberry Pickin'

Last week the teens in our homeschool group went north to pick strawberries at McPeak Orchards. There were four families represented with seven kids. We had a great time and came home with about 15 quarts of delicious, fresh red strawberries. I put up 7ish quarts and we ate the rest within a day or so. I wish I had taken pictures of the outing but all I've got is one of our two baskets to show you...







We didn't quite get our fill of picking berries so one of our MOT(mom of teen) offered to let us pick from her dad's dewberry patch not far from us. Again, I did not take pictures but that's a GOOD thing! It was 92 degrees, sunny, and windy. None of the kids picked for more than 5 minutes so it was just us hot, sweaty, windblown moms doing the dirty work. And it was DIRTY! I came away with just under five pounds but we are going back next week for more. I froze three quarts and made a "scone cake" with the rest(what was left after the girls had munched them anyway)...



(before butter)


(now that's better)

Blackberry Chocolate Chip Scone Cake

(it is important to note that the measurements are extremely approximate!)

2-2.5ish cups of flour(I use half white, half whole wheat)
1.25tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1 loose cup(about 2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
1 heaping cup of blackberries or dewberries
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
enough milk to make a think batter
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
(I did NOT add any vanilla or cinnamon but both would have worked-I just plain forgot)
Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine dry ingredients and toss to mix and break up sugar. Add berries, chips, milk and egg and mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x9 or 9x13 pan(mine was a 9-inch straight sided round stoneware tart pan). Bake for about 20 minutes, testing at about 15-16 minutes with a cake tester. It might take longer than 20 minutes, I was facebooking and didn't pay attention. The edges were slightly pulled away and browned when they were done if that helps. Let them cool a bit and cut into serving sized pieces. Eat buttered with plenty of coffee!! Enjoy!

Some video...

Mark finally loaded the software for Amy's video camera. Here's some of our goofy animals and our record setting SNOW from mid-February.

coming out of a whirlwind...

One hospital stay for chest pains and crazy high blood pressure(175/115), CHECK.
I'm now on meds for anxiety and reflux. Nothing is wrong with my heart at all, thank God. I'll be seeing my doctor in a few weeks to follow up. AND starting my yoga back up!!!



One family delayed by snow storm, CHECK.
My parents got about 17 inches of snow the weekend before they were to travel to our place! It was amazing to look at but had them unable to get down their driveway for several days.


(the horrid cat who loves nobody but his mama)

One nasty unprovoked cat bite, CHECK.
Tibert bit the crap out of my dad. He also bit Aaron a few times. I think he was very out of sorts with all the company, a new puppy-sister, Christmas goings on and so forth. He's never met my family and isn't used to so much activity.


Several crazy shopping days scoring lots of great thrift store goodies, CHECK.
I got some Christmas junk and two gorgeous vintage eelskin purses(pink doctor's bag for spring and a maroonish brown for fall), and some wool.(pics later when I find my new card reader again)


(girls ready to open presents)


(Sarah's Snuggi-wrap, she LOVES it despite her expression)

Many nice gifties for everyone, CHECK.
We did family gifts this year and got a nice rug for our concrete living room floor and a convection-toaster oven. The kids cleaned up with electronics, Mark and Ryan got cologne, and the girls got lots of clothes and such.

Crochet lessons for my mom, CHECK.
She is learning, slowly but surely. Being left-handed makes it difficult for me to coach her along though.

Delish tortilla soup, CHECK.
3 ckn breasts(boneless/skinless), cute in 3/4 inch cubes
1 bell pepper
1 onion
2 cans pinto beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can no-salt tomatoes(diced)
1 tsp cumin, chili powder, garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
3/4 cup brown rice
8-10 cups of water

Brown veggies and ckn til pink is gone, add water, spices, beans, rice, and tomatoes. Cook over med-low heat for about 45 minutes. Serve with cheese and sour cream over tortilla chips.

Two huge batches of my special Honey Mustard/Deviled Party Mix, CHECK.
I make a large roaster pan full of this, using almost all of each box of cereal, plus nuts and pretzel twists. Mine has Quaker Oat Squares too. I used 2/3 stick of butter, about 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, generous sprinkles of garlic and onion powder, 1/4 cup honey, several good squirts of mustard(spicy if you've got it), and a dash of cayenne. It was inhaled.

Dozens of snuggles with a cute puppy, CHECK.


(Aaron and Sparkle, she was a huge hit!)

It was a crazy, hectic but fun Christmas celebration this year at the Sonier Casa and I wish my family didn't have to leave so soon!!

front yard this morning...

We are having a lazy day today. I'm hosting our milk co-op this month so we have a cooler full of milk in the front yard. It was so nice this morning that I dragged out the camera and let a few kitties out. Here's what came of it.













In other news...

Ryan is having a Halloween party Saturday night. We aren't sure how many to expect. His pool party was attended by 40 kids!!

Check this out, its GRUESOME but looks delicious too!! This would be FUN for his party but we're going with pizza since they are teens. Much easier!

The Suds...

but first, a blast from the past! Halloween 2004...



If you know Spongebob you know about the suds. It is his version of being sick. I'm pretty sure I caught Ryan's version of the suds when he COUGHED ON ME a few days ago. Sigh. How rude. So, there's that. And there's this:

My completely made up outta my butt string beanie!! Amy's is blue and Sarah got a mulberry one. Mine is a 70s avocado gold-green.


And there is also this:

I planted something and it is still living! Yay me!!


In other news...

Ryan is having a Halloween party this Saturday night. We have no idea how many kids will be here. His pool party had 40. I'm hoping for somewhat less, like maybe half of that.

Amy is working at a Trunk or Treat thing Wednesday night, she'll be handing out candy and she's also suffering from the suds.

I'm going to rest as much as I can before these events. Wish us luck!!

pumpkin carving...

We went old school as far as our tools were concerned. Instead of fancy-schmancy cutting kits we used steak knives and a spoon to carve our beautiful white pumpkins. It was really fun and I think they turned out great!!















Our neighbor down the street has also caught the spirit. I LOVE her decorations!