Summer so far....

We have had a busy summer this year! Mark and Ryan have spent hours and hours helping Papaw with long overdue yardwork. Because of his mom's illnesses she was unwilling to let anything get done there. They are making up for years of neglect and its tough!

I have been decluttering our house, doing a few improvement projects and learning to crochet with thread. We've also rescued several dogs, all returned to their rightful owners thankfully.



(crochet flower ornament)


It has been ungodly hot here in east Texas this year! Most summers are hot but we've had temps well over 100 for at least 6 weeks now, with no end in sight. As of today, 72% of Texas is in extreme drought. Its not pretty. Crops have failed, livestock are dying, fires have destroyed acres upon acres of land. I am thankful we live in the eastern part of the state, so far no major fires here. Can't wait for some cooler temps though!



The kids have had a banner year for socializing! Sarah now has four neighborhood girls to hang out with, something she's never got to do before. Ryan had a huge birthday pool party in May and continues to entertain friends by the droves. Currently two friends are staying the week and a pasture campout will happen tonight with an additional several coming out for the adventure. The girls and I have plans for a spa night after we return from a marshmallow roasting visitation.


(one of about a gazillion cicadas so far this year!)


(Tibert isn't stupid)


(Mark resting on Papaw's porch at last weekend's work session there)


(assorted pots gathered from the yard)


(pulling vines out of the trees is hard work!)


(newly painted dining table!)


(fire from the boys night out in Papaw's pasture)


The day after Mark's mom's funeral, his dad told him who his biological mother is. So we have been finding assorted birth relatives for the past few weeks. Pictures as well as information have been provided from his aunt's family. These are Mark's biological maternal grandparents, he looks very much like his grandfather! My mom is a genealogy genius and has zipped his birth family all the way back to Jamestown and then some! It is fascinating to find out things that we've always suspected(a Native American ancestor) are actually true. Anyway, we have plans to meet his half-brother this fall when we visit my parents. One of his cousins lives 3 blocks from us and we will meet up with him soon too. It is neat for our kids to be able to know the biological ties to their ancestry.



(pool on a good day)


(this guy has the right idea!)

Friday Fifteen...

A glimpse into our June, in random order...


(weather)


(laundry shenanigans)


(cousins)


(viand)


(harvest)


(me)


(creating)


(thrift store score)


(temp-june 2nd)


(sad day)


(monkey suit)


(sweet boy)


(sweeter boy)


(spied)


(respite)

Friday Just a Moment*....

I've been away from my camera time for most of the week, busy with house stuff and kid stuff. So, today we went to the lake, cold and windy as it was....


(Sarah on a sandbar)

*inspired by my friend Nin.

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)

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!

Rainbow Clouds...

An explanation of rainbow clouds.

And pictures of the one that occurred for a few minutes above our park day this afternoon(not nearly as spectacular as the one in the link) but still pretty cool huh?