People, it's freaking HOT out there. That's why I'm in here taking part in Friday Fragments! You should too! Just click the button below and head on over to Mrs. 4444's at Half-Past Kissin' Time to join in the fun!
Not too much going on around here- just a 21st birthday and Birdie getting back from her trip to Londonand preparing for ALL 4 of the lovelies and their boys to arrive tonight...but that's all.
I finally figured out how to get a picture on my blog header- FINALLY. And, big surprise, it was super EASY! It was one of those things that, when it did finally come to me, I said- out loud- "What an idiot."
The heat is blasting full force around here- although they are calling for a cool down soon with temps at 90 instead of 98. Gee, thanks. Please tell me that this is a precursor to a lengthy, chilly fall and cold winter!!! Tell me. Now. It's the only thing that makes this heat bearable.
I'm still vacuuming up dog hair from Birdie's dog, Strider, about 3 times/day. I'm not used to having dog hair around here. Tucker doesn't shed. I'm also not a fan of dog hair all over the dang place. But I am fond of Strider. He's such a great dog! Even though I just noticed that there's even dog hair on my cell phone. Hrmrph.
I've got TONS of summer reading to do- I've only made it through 5 books so far! YIKES! My list includes: Ready, Set, GO! (it's all about Sprint 8- very informative so far...probably reading this one slow because I know that when I finished it's ON); A Year on Ladybug Farm- easy read but hasn't piqued my interest just yet; 4 more Harlan Coben books- I'm reading the entire Myron Bolitar series; The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve; World Without Cancer: the Story of Vitamin B17; and then there's the one I'm waiting for- Carol's new book Surfing in Stilettos-and when it arrives, everything else goes on hold!
Got the third bookcase painted. And lifted. And then my back starting yelling at me. I don't know when I'm going to learn to wait on help. Seriously. At my age.
I've got to go peel some shrimp for tomorrow! I like to get the hard part over with the day before!
Hope y'all have the most fantastic weekend! Watch out for that heat!
Yes. That's right. ANOTHER week has gone by. Not much this week around here. Although, Hubs and I did have a great weekend. I think we're finally learning how to have fun without the kids around.
Anyway, here's my week in a:
My beloved Panthers won their game last week against the Redskins! It was the very first game that Cam Newton was on target for 4 quarters of football. He's been playing well the first half and then going to his happy place (where that is I do not know but I do know that it's NOT the football game). Not last week! I think it might be because I decided to let Tucker wear his Panther jersey. He was all kinds of thrilled and delighted!
He could hardly contain his excitement.
When he realized we were winning, he almost had a stroke!
Suddenly, he noticed that the officials SUCKED.
And he told them, in no uncertain terms to STOP MAKING BS CALLS!
And he sat there just to make sure...
Football is exhausting!
I was in the kitchen this week- baking. I made Hubs some gluten free bread and the granola bars he loves so much...
These are SO tasty! I found the recipe at Give Love Create Happiness. My favorite thing about these is that you can easily add any goodies you want to them! AND the fact that I don't mind Hubs eating them because they are gluten free (when I make them) and sweetened with honey, not sugar!
I've been experimenting with gluten free bread mixes- I like this one best! It's Bob's Red Mill gluten free bread mix. You can use it for your bread machine if you have one. I don't, but it comes with instructions to make by hand.
I made the kids Minestrone and gluten free corn bread. And, for dessert, those homemade peanut butter cups they love so much (recipe comes from Divine Health). And then, last night, I made Hubs my yummy She-Crab Soup (which turned out better than ever and I think it's because I used coconut milk instead of evaporated milk) and Crab and Asparagus Little Quiches (also from Divine Health). Those little quiche are now on my Christmas brunch menu! Delicious! Sorry, no pictures. We we're afraid we would drool on the camera!
The morning walks have been quite nice. Except for the two mornings that someone turned the freaking heat up. NEWS FLASH: It's NO LONGER summer. Of course Tucker could care less as long as there are squirrels out there for him to tree.
I gave that little stinker a bath on Wednesday. On Thursday, he rolled in something that stunk to high heaven and I had to bathe him again. That was fun.
This is the path the goes around the ponds. The front pond is on the left.
Some of you may remember me mentioning the fact that I LOVE the color RED. I detest purple. But I love that purple on the pampus grass---it's so feathery and wispy. I looked it up and they say it's Pink Pampus Ornamental Grass. Whatever Dude. That is NOT pink. Tucker just wanted to get on with treeing the squirrels.
I was going to head over to Whole Foods and see what they have in the way of sugar free/gluten free/vegan type candy for Halloween but Deanie said, and I quote, "O Mom! Don't do that to the little trick-or-treaters!" Sometimes I 'm on this train all alone.
There is something to look forward to this week! November 1 will arrive on Tuesday which means I will officially admit that I am listening to Christmas music. AND BREEZY WILL BE HERE OVER THE WEEKEND! She has a bachelorette party to attend but will be staying a couple of days!!! And I'll have her all to myself because BestSonInLawEVER is going to stay home to attend his granny's 93rd birthday! I'll miss him but it will be nice to have Breezy all to myself! It's been at least 3 years since that's happened! Deanie and NickleAss partied in Chapel Hill with BestSonInLawEVER and Breezy last night.
BestSonInLawEVER (as Mayhem), Deanie (I'm not even going there--let's just say-delusional male flasher), Deanie's boytoy, NickelAss (Fruit of the Loom grapes), and Breezy (Carmen Sandiego...although I thought she would have made a fantastic Gloria from Modern Family-she even found a brunette wig...oh well, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Last night, she was spotted partying it up in Chapel Hill, NC...Go Tar Heels!).
Here are two videos by a band that I really enjoy listening to. I had a hard time deciding which song to use, but I finally decided to share my top two faves:
I hope everyone has a fantastic week! And remember to tune into that Christmas music...oh, I mean remember to smile! Because you look so pretty when you do!
Wow. That's yet ANOTHER week that flew right by and put me one week closer to Christmas. The good news: Everyone will be home for the holidays! The bad news? I'm no where NEAR ready. And by no where NEAR ready, I mean I'm not ready to even think about getting ready. Does that even make sense? I still have a room to paint and cleaning to get to and then planning the Thanksgiving menu which will be sugar and gluten free and then the decorating...ARGHHH! No. No. It's fine. It's no where near time to panic. Is it?
Anyway, here's my week in a:
Hubs and I got up early Monday morning to take Deanie back to the airport. We didn't want her to go. But we got up and took her anyway. Someone might have shed a tear or two on the way back home. But I'm telling who. We really enjoyed having her home even if it was for such a short time. DoodleBug loved it too! She really misses those sisters of hers. We had a fabulous visit but I didn't take many pictures. I got too caught up in the magic of sisters talking and laughing together. It was pure bliss!
Deanie came straight to the fields after the wedding to see her sister!
Her daddy got her some boiled peanuts! A low-country MUST HAVE!
And I made bread--gluten free of course. And those really ripe bananas back there? Gluten free banana bread! It lasted about one day.
I think we had our last official hot weather day for the next 7 months. I sure hope so. Because I was officially OVER the heat. Officially. Over. It. Walking in 40 degree weather is much more desirable than trudging along in 80 or 90 degree weather. AND Tucker loves it too! He's been staying out there with me for the whole 5 miles!
Of course we are slowed down somewhat when Tuck sees a squirrel. ..
or two.
And the sunrises have been quite nice!
Some of you might remember that Breezy and I hosted a baby shower for a good friend of hers in August--we've known her since the girls were in 4th grade together. Her mother passed away a few years ago so we try to be here for her.
They aren't in 4th grade anymore.
LOOK WHO SHOWED UP ON THURSDAY!!!
Isn't he adorable?!
The groomer was here for Tucker this week. It's our last trim until the warmer weather comes back. I love our groomer-she comes to the house and does such a great job! And she's nice. And guess who is helping her for a bit? Bill Murray's son. That's right! Tucker is shampooed by a kid with a famous dad! Anyway, Tucker does get a little chilly when the weather changes (he's such a spoiled, low-country pup) so he got a new jacket this week.
This is Tucker pouting after being groomed. He is not the least bit impressed that Bill Murray's son shampooed him.
He was not all that interested in having his picture taken in his new coat.
I am in the mood for holiday movies and, in my endeavor to find some on Netflix, I have discovered that Netflix sucks. They won't let us watch Hocus Pocus or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown or any Thanksgiving movies and very few Christmas movies instantly. I am not happy about this at all. It sure is lucky that I have a bunch of Christmas movies on DVD.
DoodleBug, Gibbsterrific, Evwardo, HannahBanana, and Benjamin came over for Wednesday night supper! Birdie joined us via Skype. I LOVE Wednesday night suppers!
The Wednesday night crew!
Strider just can't figure out where we are!
DoodleBug decided to do a bit of school work while she was here but Tucker had other plans for her.
So she had a little talk with him about how she needed to get some of her work done.
Guess who won?
And that wraps up our week! Hope you have a fantastic week ahead! And remember to smile- it'll give people something to talk about!
The week went by so quickly. I suppose that was because of the fact that there were THREE highlights! Yeppers, you read that right- THREE highlights. NO!NO!NO! I mean FOUR highlights! Holy Cow!
AND NOW, here's my week in a:
HIGHLIGHT ONE: Wednesday night supper with the college kids AND meeting DoodleBug's new love interest, Swanee! Oh, he gets the thumbs up!
Evwardo, DoodleBug and Tucker, Swanee, Gibbsterrific, Birdie and Strider joined us for supper on Wednesday. Of course, Birdie and Strider joined in via Skype. I made homemade veggie soup and gluten free pumpkin cheesecake! YUM! And FUN!
HIGHLIGHT TWO: Birdie's Birthday! Even though she wasn't here, we shared it with her to an extent. First, DoodleBug and I sent her a package that arrived the week before her birthday BUT we told her she couldn't open it until her actual birthday. Which was Friday. So, Friday morning, she opened her box! It's always nice to have a package to open on your birthday. We put some green surprises in cards and Evwardo, her boytoy, took them to her. He flew out to Texas on Thursday to spend Birdie's birthday weekend with her (he's like, the SWEETEST!) where they spent time carving a pumpkin...I might have stolen taken borrowed a few pictures from Evwardo's facebook page.
That's Evwardo. And, yes. He is sporting pumpkin head gear.
Birdie takes all things Halloween quite seriously.
The end result!
HIGHLIGHT THREE: Deanie came home Thursday. Then she left for Hilton Head on Friday--to be in a wedding (her big's nuptials...big meaning her big sister in her sorority). BUT she came back today and isn't leaving until tomorrow!
DoodleBug has missed her sisters so much! Hubs and I just stood there talking about how much we love seeing them together. That's Gibbsterrific standing there too! She knows all about missing sisters. Her sister, Gibbsterrific the younger, is at home in PA.
HIGHLIGHT FOUR: DoodleBug is the captain of the College of Charleston's Women's Ultimate Frisbee team (the Hobos) and they hosted a tournament this weekend! Hubs and I spent all day Saturday out there cheering them on. Oh, and we took out coolers of Gatorade and water; bananas, apples, string cheese, bagels, Nutella, peanut butter, trail mix galore... And I might have taken a picture or 400ish.
That's DoodleBug. Using her face to assist her in catching the disc. Sometimes, she takes after her dad.
Passing the disc.
Running to catch the disc.
At one point, there might have been some dance moves on the field.
Some busting of the moves, if you will.
Break it down girls!
No, NO! BREAK it down NOT FALL down! This might have been a backwards layout.
Catching the disc...
And again...
Passing it off.
Look! It's Gibbsterrific!!!
DoodleBug is little, but don't let that fool you.
Because she is FIERCE!
Today's video is from sectionals in May, 2011. DoodleBug is number 4 and the team is wearing white jerseys.
That's it for now! I'll update more later! Hope y'all have a FANTASTIC week! And remember to smile! You know why...!
It's been a full week of cooler temps which made walking so very pleasurable! We ended our week with a trip downtown to the farmer's market. And, next week, we'll be meeting a new interest of DoodleBug's. One of the male persuasion. Should be interesting. AND Deanie will be home for the weekend! Woot!
A word of warning- there are quite a lot of photos on this post!
AND NOW, here's my week in a:
I got Birdie's package mailed off and she's already received it. It's a birthday present from DoodleBug and me. BUT Birdie is not allowed to open it until Friday- the 14th- her actual birthday! You know, so she will have something to unwrap on her special day. This is the very first year that Birdie has not been at home for her birthday. *sniff* She will turn 23 years old. In Texas. Without us. Twenty freaking hours away from home. Stupid grad school.
Hubs is going along nicely with my no meat and gluten free trial. Although he did say something like, "I sure would like some meat every once in a while," the other day. So I made a recipe that Biz had on her blog called Poppy's Chicken Brunswick Stew. It was fab! Hubs also asked me to pick up some bread for him the other day. I asked him what, exactly, he thought gluten free meant...no worries! I found a gluten free bread mix so now he gets homemade bread!
And this is my first attempt at homemade gluten free bread. Hubs LOVES it!
I LOVE autumn! It's my favorite time of year because of many things--football, the changing leaves, the cooler temps, the cooking/baking, the holidays---just everything. One more thing I love about fall is that I get to use the hot water knob in the shower for lovely warm showers. A good, relaxing, enjoyable, nice, drainthehotwaterheater long shower makes me feel so stress free. Plus, the steam fogs up the mirror and makes it easy to see something like this:
Yes- Hubs sometimes leaves me a message on the bathroom mirror---can you see it?
Some of my summer flowers are on the road to demise. But not this little gem! I need to plant some fall flowers- soon!
I had to make the dreaded Wal-Mart trip this week. Tucker loves to find 'his' bag when I come back. He does this when I return from the grocery store too. Silly pup! Wait, maybe that should be spoiled pup!
He puts his face in every bag until he finds the one with his treats. And yes, he gets something every time.
DoodleBug, HannahBanana and I went downtown yesterday to the Farmer's Market at Marion Square. FUN! Careful, lots of photos follow:
There was music. Which would have been great- if that guy hadn't been singing.
There were a crap ton of people.
And apples...
and tomatoes...
and eggplant and peppers...
and pretty flowers...
and jars of homemade yummy goodness...
(we brought two jars home for Hubs but I noticed after we got home that the stupid woman gave me TWO WRONG JARS)
and Charleston goodies...
and nutty goodness--seriously, go visit these young ladies at nuttygoodness.net. The one on the left is a friend of DoodleBug's but they are both delightful young ladies--I love that they are so young and so industrious! Check them out!
We bought these for Hubs!
There were more apples...
and peaches...
and peppers...
and beans and peanuts and cucumbers and okra...
And there were plenty of arts and crafts such as sweet grass baskets...
and purses...
and paintings and sketches...
and these little...thingys...
and jewelry...
Tucker found a friend...
who just loved him so gently...
DoodleBug actually knows this little sweetie pie...
who told us what her doggie says--"woofwoof!"
And on the way back to the car we saw plenty of bikes at the College of Charleston.
The bikes in black&white...yeah, I don't know...
OH! And Hubs' cousin (whom I A.D.O.R.E.) had her second daughter this week!
Aren't they just the sweetest, most adorable family you've ever seen?! I love these guys so much! Ellen has a blog too- you can visit her at Baby Meets City! (I might have stolen borrowed this photo from BigDaddy's fb page...)
AND I won the Autumn giveaway at Katherine's Corner! YAY! I'll post about that when I receive it so I can show y'all a picture!
Being a transplant to the low-country of SC for 31 years is still not long enough to be called a ‘benyeh.’ If I stay until I’m dead I’ll probably go a ‘comeyeh’ since I am, originally, ‘from off’ (which is the upstate but, rules you know). By day I take care of my sweet little granddaughter, Baby M and do all those things I did when I was a SAHM raising four daughters which has translated to, ‘by day, I am exhausted.’ By night I blog, blog, blog, and blog some more or I sleep, depending on my level of exhaustion (do they still make Geritol?). I have a very unhealthy addiction to sweets (nearly any kind will do) and all comfort foods not covered under the ‘sweets’ category. I’m known for speaking my mind so, if you don’t want to know, don’t ask me. I love to find the humor in my empty nest life. I live life hard and smack into that brick wall almost daily because I’ve always had to learn the hard way. Why change now? I’m so glad you’ve come to laugh with me as I do this middle age, empty nest thing like a BOSS!
