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!!

Gottlieb's Chocolate Chewy Recipe

This is such a great cookie...a cookie from my childhood! This is from a bakery in Savannah, Georgia that is now closed. It was started, I think, in the 1920's and closed in the late 1990's. It was a wonderful Jewish bakery with it's claim to fame being the Chocolate Chewy! They were so delicious and such a treat. When the bakery closed everyone was so disappointed..now the Chocolate Chewy would be gone forever! But I just had this recipe sent to me today and though I would share it with you!! Once you try them you will be hooked!! Yummy!

Gottlieb's Chocolate Chewy

12 oz powered sugar

1 1/4 oz cocoa

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

3 egg whites

8 oz chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 300. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place sugar, cocoa and flour in mixer bowl and beat until well blended. Beat in egg whites, 1 at a time, scraping bowl as necessary. Beat at high speed for 1 minute. Beat in pecans.

Drop by tablespoon onto sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies for spreading. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 15 minutes, turning sheet around halfway through baking time. Remove from oven; cool on paper. Place cookies on paper in freezer, freeze for 1 hour.

Remove from freezer, peel paper off cookies. Store in an airtight container. These don't keep very long, so eat quickly - as if that is a problem!

Make 2 dozen.

My Newest on Etsy!

I love this apron!! Misty Mod Flowers! This is the newest BBQ Style apron listed today. I was so haapy to find this fabric...I had seen it before but always somthing else I had to buy at the time! On the way home from Emory we go home through the same neighborhood. In this neighborhood there is this house that has been repainted. It is a wood house, dark charcoal grey with white trim. Get this...the door is painted turquoise! The same colors as this apron! Love the house and now love this apron!! What do you think? Leave me a comment! If you don't love it, tell me which one you do love!

qvh92atmxz

The Little Bird That Could

Yesterday evening after Sweet Mama and I got home from the visitation, we decided to sit out on the back screened-in porch. We had changed our clothes, had some Chick-fil-a and were just reminiscing.
I had re-potted a geranium that Squirrely had tried to dig to China in, the middle of course, and had moved it under the trees out of the heat. It was starting to get dark so I thought I needed to move it out for some sunshine in the morning. I went out and put it beside my patio tomatoes (see above..but now there are two side by side!). About that time I noticed something in the corner of the pot...it was a little bird. I ran back in the house (keep in mind that I am a city girl living in rural Georgia) and looked through the protection of the screen. The bird was just sitting there, not moving. I had been so close that I could have touched him/her! It sat there for a long time..we both just looking at it. Then suddenly it moved! Robins had come into the yard for some snacks and the baby bird saw them. It moved around the pot to the front backyard edge, trying to fly every now and again but could not get any lift. One of the robins saw it and came up into the cherry tree just a chirping. The baby bird tried to jump into the next planter right beside it, but fell to the ground. It then hopped out into the backyard...the older bird landed near it. The baby hopped up to the other bird. The older bird looked like it smelled him...the hopped a little away. The baby bird hopped toward it, it moved a little away. It was like the older bird was leading it away from the house. We watched as long as we could but it started to get dark...the lightning bugs were out!
So we left them there..I am hoping the baby finally found out how to fly and is happily winging his way around the neighborhood!!

Peachy Deals on Etsy!

It's peach pickin' time here in Middle Georgia!! The Georgia Etsy Street is having a peach of a sale from 6/21 until 6/28! Just go to www.etsy.com and type "Peachy Deals" in the search box! There are some great deals here!! I am offering FREE SHIPPING on anything in my shop! Check it out...click on any picture on the right in My Etsy Shop! And have a peachy time!!

A Sad Day

Sweet Mama's favorite cousin died yesterday. She was 83. Sweet Mama loved her as she was 10 years old than Sweet Mama and quite a "grown woman" when they were young. Sweet Mama remembers when her cousin was a newlywed and her new husband was the bomb! They were such a fun couple..always the life of the party! Just country farm people but the salt of the earth. We loved going to the farm to see the peanuts and cotton growing in the fields! There were always animals around...pigs, birds, cats, singing dogs(they learned "Jesus Loves Me"). Great fun for us kids!

It was also our hurricane evacuation destination! She thought it was so funny that I had taught my inside house cat how walk on a leash on outside! You should have seen the looks on the farm cats faces when I took him outside to potty. She was screaming with laughter and never let me forget it! That was in 1989...Hurricane Hugo!

Hubby died about 4 or 5 years ago and after a short decline, she died yesterday at 12:30 pm. We will miss her dearly, but remember her laughter and great food!

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?

Pre-Radiation Visit

Sweet Mama began her journey through radiation this morning. Like this picture, she is standing on the rocks getting ready to start across the river. Preparing to make this journey, she went to the radiologist today.

She had to be fitted with a mesh mask that fits over and molds to her face. It is used to keep her head still and to mark the guides for the rays of radiation needed for her treatment. She also had to have a CT scan while in this mask. Because her cancer in in her head, she had to have an appliance made by the prosthodontist in Atlanta. This will be worn everytime she has treatment. Our appointment only lasted about 30 minutes and was over before she knew it. The people there were so nice! She felt very relieved in the process and reassured that it would be easier than she thought!

So today was a good day! Tomorrow we will get a call telling us when the radiation will begin, some time next week. It is to last 28 visits, 5 days a week to equal 6 weeks. We feel ready, willing and able!

A Better Day

After a whirlwind day yesterday, of expected and unexpected doctor's appointments, Sweet Mama, Red and I made it back home. The ride from Atlanta was nice and easy. The doctors were very positive and Sweet Mama was feeling much better by the time we got home. Much better ending to a day that started a little rough. Sweet Mama has had a time recovering from the anesthesia. It didn't help that she had 2 surgeries in less than 3 weeks! Hopefully every day will be a little better than the last!

We have been spending more and more time on the back porch now that Skippy and I cleaned and vacuumed. Red's family (minus Kojak) came over and visited last night. And this evening Skippy and Red came back! Beau has taken a liking to the recliner, especially at naptime. Well , Skippy plopped down while Beau was trying to nap. Both would not give an inch! The result was this! Beau was slowly sliding down the recliner as Skippy would lean back. His face got closer and closer to the edge!

Until finally he gave up and left! Not in an angry or mad way...just like "OK I'm tired of this...yawn...hmm.. this other chair looks nice and comfy!" A relaxing and quiet day for healing!

This Long Week

It has been a long week... First Sweet Mama and I went to Atlanta to see her prosthodontist and surgeon. Her eye has been giving her a fit, it is sagging and she could not close it all the way. So the surgeon referred over to a ocular plastics doctor. He saw us that afternoon and decided to sew her eye shut until she finishes radiation. Not what we had planned for that day! But her eye is feeling better now, although she looks like a rock star!

Wednesday we all went to meet the radiation doctor. Red went too! They were very nice and kind! Sweet Mama seemed pleased with the meeting and felt very informed. We go back in a week.

On Thursday, around 4pm, Sweet Mama called me into her room for something to drink. Then she said she wasn't feeling well, then she could not talk to me...We had to call 911 and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance! Red rode with her and they both were disappointed that they did not use the lights or sirens. They thought that if you have to pay the money for the ambulance ride you should at least get the full experience! I think she was dehydrated and was having a reaction to one of the medicines she was given on Monday. We were there until this afternoon.

I am so tired! I have spent 2 nights in the hospital with her, and boy are they noisy at night! It is hard to get a good night's sleep with so many people barging in all hour of the night!

So now, we are home and she is resting in her own bed. We go back to Emory on Monday to see everyone. And then back to the radiation drs on Thursday to start again! I think this time it is going to be more challenging than the last time four years ago. But I know we will get through it! It will just take more time and effort and prayers!

2nd Annual Yart Sale on Etsy

I am participating in the Second Annual Yart Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST! It runs Wednesday June 10 through Sunday June 14, 2009. Check put my shop www.apronsandmore.etsy.com for great Yart deals in the Clearance Section! Also Free Shipping in the USA on ANY ITEM in the shop! For great deals go to www.etsy.com and search yart!

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!

Adventures in Gardening with Skippy

Today Skippy came over to hang out. We were sitting around discussing gardens and planting when we decided to write this post.

A few weeks ago while pulling a few weeds, Skippy came across this baby pine tree and decided to plant it. He planted it in a pot I had where a past plant had died. It has liked it's new home and is growing well. Skippy has planted some radishes in a little red wagon that he had. He planted them from seeds and had to thin out the patch. He gave me two of my own and planted them next to the tree.


They have decided to grow and getting bigger every day! There was more things to be said today but due to computer glitches and operator errors...this post is TO BE CONTIUED!

Remembering Mia

Today is a very sad day! Today Mia died of mysterious circumstances. Mia was my brother-in-law Kojak's cat. He is deployed out of country for a year. While he was away he decided to adopt a cat from his temporary home. She was cat number Two as number One was not very friendly. Keep in mind that Kojak has always been a dog person, so this cat thing was a little tricky to get the hang of. Cat number One quit. Cat number Two moved in last December and was named Mia. After a little "getting to know you" lessons, a loving friendship began. There were a few problems in the beginning. She started howling and being very unhappy. Kojak took her to the local vet and, with a translator, found out that although she had been fixed, she still had her ovaries. In this country they do not remove them because the cat would suffer from brittle bones... Who knew! She got some birth control pills or hormones and made it through.

Kojak came home last week for Precious' graduation. He left Sunday for a conference in some European country for the week. He was to return today to his post. I had an email forwarded to me this morning telling me the sad news. Mia had died sometime during the day. She had been acting a little oddly when the girl keeping her went to work. The girl thought Mia was okay but that she would check on her later. When she got home, Mia was dead. No problems while in her keep...eating, drinking, sleeping was all normal until today. Very sad. We are all hoping Kojak will get another cat as he is there until December. When he leaves the cat will immigrate to the US with him.

So say a little prayer for Mia. She was very sweet and loved by the whole family. They met her while visiting last Christmas. She will be missed.

Oh Happy Day!

Today has been a great day! I woke up this morning to a sale in my Etsy shop! It is so nice to sell something while I am asleep!! Then later in the day I sold another around 3 pm. I'm jumping for joy! I was at the post office mailing the one from this morning when this one sold!! AND THEN, tonight I sold another!! Can you see me doing the Happy Dance?!!! This is the best day I have had yet with my shop! I hope everything keeps selling! It would be nice to wake up tomorrow and find that I have sold another! I am so glad that people are starting to find me. I love making these aprons and am happy that other like them too!

I have also contributed some aprons to an event in Michigan this month. It is a cooking event for girls at a shelter for domestic violence. Check out the site www.EnchantedMakeovers.org

They do really nice work!

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!