Bye Bye Spring...

Ah Spring! Why do you have to leave us so soon? Seems like we just met and now you are leaving!! We have enjoyed the beautiful flowers with their fragrant scents. The lovely splashes of color... But now here comes your sister Summer! Although she is always welcome...don't you think she is a bit early? She brings heat (89 today) and storms (forecast for the next few days)!
We wish you could stay longer...but we understand! You have done all that you were sent to do! We will miss you!


So until next year..here are some of the flowers still in the yard! Plus a holdover from fall!! Check out the size!!


I hoping it will bloom! ...what color was it again?

Ahhhh Summer!

Outdoor Cooking is the latest treasury I am featured in. It features my Picnic Ants BBQ Style Apron! Makes you want to pack up your stuff and head outside! You can see the whole thing here

Get ready for your next cookout with this cute apron!

It will be here before you know it!!

The End of Summer...

Summer is almost over... Where did it go?! Seems like only yesterday that I had planted my tomatoes. Now they are almost done. This all I have left...Oh, and plus a few on the other bush...

I guess now it is time to think towards Fall. My favorite time of year! I listed on my shop the other day the first Halloween aprons...and one sold today!

So now time to start thinking of the holidays... There is some great fabric out there. It should be fun coming up with some new ideas! I can't wait...

Goodbye Summer... Thanks for not being so hot this year...Not many bugs...No hurricanes, yet! Hello Fall...Welcome Back!

Birthday Season

It has become the birthday season around here! First it was LB's fiancee - July 12, then me - July 23, then Skippy - July 30 and yesterday Red - August 11! It has been party central around here! No really..we just had one celebration while LB was here from Iowa earlier last month. We all opened presents and shared a cake. It was kinda like Christmas except LB (January) and Sweet Mama (April) didn't get a present. :(

Yesterday Red was over here all day and even went to radiation with us. She went home and brought diner back to cook and even bought her own birthday cake. Sad isn't it... On my birthday we had to go to Emory in Atlanta to get Sweet Mama's eye sewn closed again. Sigh... My birthday dinner was eating Chick Fila in the car on the ride home.

So..Red and I have decide that we will celebrate our birthdays Feb 1 next year...like a half birthday celebration. When we were little we always moved in the summertime..usually August ... so we would have a joint birthday party on August 1, before the move (or sometimes even if we weren't moving), with all of our friends. Maybe by February things will be back to normal and we can all go out to dinner and celebrate like we always do!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone! It's turning out to be a great day for picnics and fireworks! Skippy's 3rd Annual Firework Extravaganza is tonight at his house. The thrill of a 14 old old will be felt by all! We had a preview on the 2nd...shooting off some of the arsenal. He buys these with his own money and seems to get carried away more and more every year. Thursday night was a way for us not to have to be up watching fireworks until midnight tonight!

So have a safe and fun 4th! And remember me...watching the extravaganza... :)

More Squirrely

This morning was so cool and nice out on the porch! Sweet Mama and I had our cup of coffee out there...enjoying the cool relief from the heat. It has been so hot here in Middle Georgia! You would have thought that it was August!!



While we were chillin'...painting our toenails. Squirrely came up for his breakfast!. I had my camera sitting right beside me just in case he showed up! He did and starting gnawing away. Notice his technique! Always keeping his feet on the top post. Such a talent! He ate for a little while and then bounced away! I think he went to tell his friends about the "New Buffet" because pretty soon another squirrel came up. Now this one was a little heaver than Squirrely. He slipped off the fence on his approach, scared himself, climbed a tree and then cautiously came back. By now the sun had rose higher and he was eating in the light. (Great photo opportunity!) Notice how he is hanging from the top of the post with both feet. I think he was still a little afraid of falling again!

He had a very small snack and was off again.


This was very entertaining to all of us. The cats could not figure out where the sound was coming from and never really saw either squirrel.

Check out the corn!!
Snackafied!!!

An Update on the Adventures of Squirrely

Squirrely, hmmm what has he been up to now??!! Not much has been happening lately. It's been so hot..but the other day I saw him looking for a snack. Next thing I knew, he had decided to eat some of my geraniums that were hanging on the fence. URRR.. So I moved them and had to replant the pot. I moved a fern over in it's place which should be safe! Maybe...

Now that he is now coming over for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I needed a plan...fast!! My brother gave us a squirrel feeder from Iowa after Sweet Mama and I were there last summer visiting. He has one in his front yard of his new house. You could sit in the living room and watch them eat. Pretty cool! This is an Iowa Squirrel.He looks a little different from our southern grey squirrels. Must be the snow! Check out the tail!


The feeder came with two ears of pre-pressed corn. The first ear I put out during the winter...which was a bad idea! It seemed to melt with each rainstorm. So I thought, now that it is summer, let's try again! I decided to put it out on the fence where the geranium had been (or close to it!)

So it sat there for a day or two until Saturday..success!! He found it and started snacking! It is pretty hard but you can hear him just a chewing on it! The porch is probably 20 feet away from the fence. Which means I can see him...but he can see me! It took me a few days to get this shot! But he loves it and has been back snacking ever since! Squirrely is quite an acrobat! He feet never left the top of the fence the whole time he was eating!!

I guess I need to get some more Iowa corn!!

It's too HOT!

It is too hot here in Middle Georgia!! Today it hit almost 100 degrees with a heat index over 102! They said on the news that it is hotter here than in Florida!!! That's just not right... It jumped straight into the middle of summer when summer doesn't start until tomorrow!

Took Sweet Mama for a ride today and she said that it is supposed to cool off next week...down to the mid 90's! Not ready for all this heat so soon. It seems like August instead of June. I like it better when we ease into to the heat..that way you don't notice it so much.

And did you hear us hollerin' a little while ago? We had a ton of ants covering the stove and counters.. Sweet Mama was tearing the burners off and I was picking and moving all the stuff on the counters. i don't know where they came from... but I think I won!! Cleaned up all the bodies and sprayed outside around all the windows. I still feel like an ant or two is still on my arm...

So I am going to close my eyes and think about sitting on the dock above...It's Moon River in Savannah. Family reunion next month there....maybe we can go for the weekend... AHHH killed two more ants. Will it ever end?

Hot Ham and Cheese Rollup

These are great!! My cousin made these for me and Sweet Mama a few years back! They were sooo good I had to have the recipe!!

Hot Ham and Cheese Rollup

1 12oz refrig pizza crust

2 Tbsp dried basil

6 oz thinly sliced ham

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

vegetable cooking spray

pasta sauce

Roll out the dough to a 12 in square. Sprinkle basil on top. Then top with ham and sprinkle cheese to 1/2 inch from edges.

Roll up dough, place seam side down on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Cut into 1 1.2 inch slices. Serve with pasta sauce or mustard.

Enjoy!

Ahh..Summer!

Ahhh...Summer break! School is out and time for fun...right? Skippy hangs out over here every summer. You see, Skippy doesn't like to be bored so he bikes over every morning to Camp KK. Camp KK has been open for many years, only closed one summer! Once a few years back I had both Skippy and Precious, but now it is just Skippy. Today's goal was to clean off the screened in porch. It was full of spider webs, pollen and cat hair. So we got to work and started scrubbing!

Skippy pulled out all the chairs and washed them down. He also vacuumed the entire porch. We wiped things down and straightened up!

Finished just in time for a late lunch with Sweet Mama! We dined on the porch enjoying the beautiful day!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Found this recipe that combines two of my favorite cookies! What a great recipe! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup oats ( old-fashioned or quick-cooking)

1 pkg (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat sugar and margarine in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg. Beat in flour and oats on low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop mixture by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on greased baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until edges are golden ( Do Not Overbake). Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Makes 18 cookies

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Need a great dish to take to you Memorial Day Barbecue! How about this one! I got it from my cousin a few years ago after we had it at a get together! It is so delicious! The family will love it and you will be such a hit!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cans boneless chicken or 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

6 oz bottle Texas Pete hot sauce

2 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 16 oz. blue cheese or ranch dressing

12 oz shredded cheddar cheese

In a 9 x 11 baking dish, sprinkle chicken and cheddar cheese on the bottom of pan, reserving 1/4 of cheese, then hot sauce on top. Mix softened cream cheese and dressing of choice together (We used ranch). Spread over chicken. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes, then sprinkle on top the remaining cheese. Return to oven till cheese melts. Serve with chips ( We like Frito's Scoops). Enjoy!

The Adventure of Squirrely

The adventures of Squirrely continue... When we last left Squirrely he was looking over the fence watching the cars go by. Well...he has been very busy since we saw him last! I decided that this year I was not going to plant a large garden. I choose instead to plant just some patio tomatoes on the back patio.

I cleaned out my planters that had died back over the winter and planted my tomatoes, cages and all! My first attempt was very un-squirrel friendly ...so I thought! Sweet Mama helped me to come up with this idea!
This lasted a few days...maybe a week, when I noticed that I had been out smarted by Squirrely! He had been digging on the sides of the plants...all the way down past the roots!! I had to do something fast! I went to my local big box store to find some medium size rocks to place around the edges. They did not have such a thing..just teeny ones that are for an aquarium! That would be more fun for Squirrely so I decided against it. I went back home and started looking around and came up with this!






Hopefully the spinners will distract him as well as the lower tinfoil! It keeps getting better and better...I know the neighbors are wondering what kind of art project I am making!



I already have blooms my tomatoes!!






So far Squirrely has not bother the tomatoes...he just chillaxing and figuring out his next move!!

Angel Food Crunch Cake

Today I have a recipe from my childhood...or should I say from my teenage-hood. Since Red and I both have birthdays in the middle of the HOT Georgia summer, Sweet Mama would make us this birthday cake! Nowadays you can buy the ice cream with the candy already mixed in, but this was a fun way of getting out some of your frustrations!! Go ahead and make it now so you'll have if down for your upcoming summer picnics! It is a great taste of summer!!

If you like, you can substitute with the ready mixed ice cream...but you'll be missing a lot of fun!!

Angel Food Crunch Cake

1 angel food cake (any size)

8 Heath Bars

1 gallon vanilla ice cream

Cut cake into two layers. Break candy bars with a hammer into small pieces (put in a Ziploc bag first!). Save 1/4 cup of pieces. Mix the rest with ice cream and spread over bottom half of the cake. Replace top and spread remaining ice cream mixture on cake (like icing!) Sprinkle on top the saved candy pieces. Freeze.

Uneaten cake can be refrozen!

Enjoy!