That's My Boy!!

This past weekend, my son competed in his first triathlon.  He has been training for the event, but wasn't sure how he would fare.  I couldn't have been more proud of him.  He did amazing!!  Here he is swimming in the river:

Next came the bike portion:

Followed up by the run.  Here he is crossing the finish line:

He did awesome!!  In his age bracket he finished in 6th place.  Overall, he was in the top 25%.  I was very pleased with how he did.  Afterwards of course a celebration was in order ..... here is how he celebrated:

Triathlon number 2 will be coming this weekend.  I think he is hooked.

Being Neighborly

Having neighbors is a part of life for most of us.  Some have bad neighbors, some have good.  I have been blessed by having the best neighbors for so many years.  They were recently gone for a few days, and upon their return brought us the most delightful treats:

A box full of very large apricots:

Another box with a lid on it (hmmmmm what could be in this one?) ....

Ahhhhh, fresh peaches (yum) :-)

And then to top it all off, after checking their garden, they met me at the fence with a bounty of fresh zucchini

I am so excited.  This means I get to make peach pies, apricot jam, zucchini bread .......  not to mention the ability to grab a fresh apricot or peach any time of day for a delicious snack, and all because I have such nice neighbors ..... thank you Jerry and Addie!!

Busy with Berries

This time of year is just perfect in every way.  The garden is growing, the sun is shining, the days are long, and it's time to begin making jam.  I find such a feeling of accomplishment each summer as I put away jam for the upcoming year.  I always begin with strawberries.  And don't these strawberries look like they will be the perfect candidates for my first batch?

They were perfect indeed!!

Tinkered Berry Muffins

When I find time for visiting various blogs, I never miss hopping over to Bluebird Notes.  Koralee has one of the cheeriest blogs around I think.  While meandering through her list of "inspiring friends" along her sidebar, I happened upon Cottage, where I found the recipe for these delicious muffins.  They went together so quick, and were so easy.  At first I wasn't sure about a muffin recipe using Bisquick since sometimes they seem to have a tendency to be "heavy".  These Tinkered Berry Muffins weren't heavy at all, and the combination of bananas, blueberries, and oats was very good.  And just as a side note .... I read once that when you take muffins out of the oven, if you tip them on their side while they cool, it will prevent the bottoms of them from becoming soggy. 

Raggedy Ann Effect

The 4th of July is behind us now.  I hope that all of you in the U.S. had a very enjoyable holiday.  My kids and I made our traditional trek downtown to see the parade.  We always show up early to get our chairs placed in our usual spot.  After the official "chair placement", we will wander around downtown, buying ice cream or little snacks, and just enjoying the atmosphere.  This year before I left home I put on my new shoes that one of my daughter's had given me as a birthday gift, along with my new 4th of July socks.  To wear these two items together anywhere else, other than a 4th of July parade, might cause a few raised eyebrows because of the similarity to Raggedy Ann's attire.  However, they seemed to fit right in at the parade.

The Yearly Bath

When my daughters were younger, one of their favorite pastimes during the warm summer days, was to take their favorite dolls outside to give them a bath.  And most of those favorite dolls had a cloth body.  So after the dolls were thoroughly washed, they would be laid out on a towel in the hot sun to dry.  This also would include a soft Raggedy Ann.  It always took a couple of days to dry; but while waiting for the dolls to dry, the doll clothes would then be washed and hung on a line.  This entire process actually kept the kids occupied for quite some time; and it would always make me smile to see their busy little hands taking care of their little dolls.

Setting Aside Some Time

One morning this past week I spent several hours working outside in my gardens.  When lunch time rolled around I set down my gardening tools and went inside.  After fixing lunch for my daughter, who had been suffering with a bad summer cold, I decided that all laundry, cleaning, and any other plans I had made could simply by set aside.  Instead I took a blanket outside on the grass; and my daughter and I spent the next couple of hours looking at the clouds, enjoying the sunshine, admiring a rainbow, and planning some imaginary trips.  And you know what --- that laundry waited patiently for me, and we had a very nice afternoon together.

Wives and Daughters

A few months ago, a good friend of mine recommended the movie, "Wives and Daughters".  I hadn't heard of it before, and so after reading a description, thought it would make a good birthday gift for one of my daughters.  I just have to say that this is a delightful movie.  It is rather lengthy; but with our extremely rainy spring, we have managed to watch it over a short period of time.  All three of us that watched it enjoyed it immensely.  The story line is intriguing, and the costumes are beautiful.  I have even placed it in my mental storage of movies to watch again and again.  So if you are looking for something new to watch, and haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend it.

Summer Lessons

With the end of the school year comes the beginning of a variety of lessons throughout the summer for the kids.  It might be swimming lessons, tennis lessons, baseball, softball, or even art lessons.  But whatever the type of lesson, they can sometimes fall right at a mealtime.  A great way to avoid running through the drive thru at a fast food restaurant, is to plan some of these healthy snacks that my blog friend, Sheila, from Alice and the Mock Turtle came up with last summer during their busy swim season.  I think they are great ideas not only to take with you during various activities; but also, just to pack up sometime for a spur of the moment summer picnic.

Photo of picnic basket taken from a random internet search -- with no link to find out where it is from.  I wish I could find it as I think this is quite possibly my dream picnic basket :-)

Farm Chick Finds -- Part 3 of 3

As a final installment of my "Farm Chick Finds" posts, I will show you what I actually purchased.  They seem rather simple compared to the wonderful things I walked by; but then that is what makes the show so much fun -- just walking by seeing so many pretty and creative things all under one roof.

Only moments after walking in the building, this little salt and pepper shaker set literally shouted out to me to get my attention.  They are only about 1 3/4" tall, and were so sweet, it was an immediate decision to purchase them -- especially after I was quoted only $1.00:

Just a few days prior to the show, my mom had taken us out to lunch, and had been telling us that before restaurants had creamers in little packets, the cream was served in little bottles on the tables.  She showed us the few little bottles that she had back at her house.  I thought how much fun it would be to have one.  Well, lo and behold, only a few short minutes after the salt and pepper shaker find, here was a little creamer bottle waiting quite patiently for my arrival. 

This cute little bottle is also only at 1 3/4" tall -- the same as the salt and pepper shakers:

I just had to stop by the Hilltop Honey stand that Serena had talked about over at The Farm Chicks blog.  The honey has been delicious.  And as a bonus the nice couple at the honey stand was also selling this cute antique flour sifter.  It will look great on my shelf next to my grandmother's canisters:

And last but not least, I have been looking for one of these for the longest time.  At least one that didn't cost a fortune.  I have great plans for it --- stay tuned, and maybe in the next few weeks I will have it all put together, and will share the fun idea that I have come up with.