MISSING IN ACTION

I've been missing in action for quite some time. Thought I might catch you up and let you know why. It's been a WONDERFUL summer.....much time at the pool with children, grandchildren, and just husband and me :) It has been so nice to have the kitchen area and bathroom out at the poolhouse so we wouldn't have to come in unless we wanted. There's even a TV hanging on the wall now......that's for my sweet husband.....however, I am enjoying it too. I know that swimming for this year is coming to a close. The water temperature is dropping but we're enjoying it while we can. NOW....the main reason I've been absent from the blog is I'm about to open my own business. I have wanted to do this for years, but never felt that I should until a few months ago. After praying for quite some time I know that God has opened the door and I had to decide whether to walk through. Oh, sure I wanted a big neon sign to appear with the wording...."Open that business.....this is God".....but it didn't. However, I know that He has spoken to me in too many ways to ignore. The business will open October 19th and I'll sell Children's, Heirloom, and Quilting Fabrics, sewing supplies, and gifts. There will be classes taught also.The name is "SEW CLOSE TO HOME". Isn't that neat? My sweet daughter came up with the name because she has heard me say many times that I wish I had some place close to home to buy fabrics, etc. I will post here occasionally to let you know how things are going. My inventory is beginning to arrive and I'm so excited. We're working on the building and it will be ready to move in soon. Right now my dining room looks like a storm has hit. If you have a Facebook page you can visit me there.....it's Sew Close To Home.

GARDEN KEEPS ME BUSY

Guess what I've been doing? Picking, shelling, cutting up, freezing, pickling, and canning. We have truly been blessed with a beautiful garden this year. I've canned tomatoes, canned salsa, green beans, peas,okra, green tomatoes, pepper sauce, and pickles. My fingers were so tired last night from shelling peas, but these are my favorite thing to eat so I didn't complain too much.

I tried a new recipe from another blog for canning salsa. It took quite some time cutting up peppers, onions, and chopping the tomatoes with the other spices but it really is good. I think it's worth the trouble. I might even attempt to make another making later on if my tomatoes continue to produce. If you've never tried canning okra it is so worth it. I used to try freezing it to fry later but never really liked the way it tasted or looked. Once I started canning the okra I have fried okra throughout the winter months and it is 'almost' as good as fresh from the garden. Gardening is hard but something I enjoy so much.

FAMILY FUN

Two weeks ago we had no plans to leave home for the 4th of July holiday.......however....we received a very special invitation from our precious granddaughters that we couldn't refuse. So.....Granddaddy & I.....along with our daughter, her husband, and three sons spent this weekend in Louisiana with our son and his family. We had SO MUCH fun and the weekend passed too fast. Saturday was spent on the lake in front of their house riding in their boat, tubing, and swimming in the lake. The picture above is Griffin as he is about to tube in the lake.

Shawn, Amy, and Zack are enjoying the boat ride.

Granddaddy had fun tubing and it was my turn next. He hit a wave and off he came which made me decide that I enjoyed riding in the boat too much to get in the water.

Late Saturday afternoon, Randy & Kim (our son's in-laws) took us out on the river in their party boat. We spent 4 hours riding, eating, looking at BEAUTIFUL homes along the river, and spotting alligators later that night.



The kids are all watching for gators and seeing the fish as they jumped out of the water. The weekend was spent with people we love and this will be one of our favorite 4th's to remember. Thanks Amy & Chris (and Randy & Kim) for a great time!

PUBLIX TRIP

I made a quick trip to Publix after work today before the new sale begins tomorrow. I had coupons for everything other than the bag of potatoes and onions. If you notice I bought 2 pints of Star Bucks Ice Cream, 6 John Frieda Hair products, Bengay, 6 Eggo Waffles, 6 SoBe Waters, 2 Baily's Creamers, bag of potatoes, bag of onions. Look below at my savings and out of pocket money .................

I saved $73.49 and only spent $10.35 out of pocket for all these items. Tell me that couponing is not worth it!!!!!

THIS FATHER'S JOY

"Children's children are a crown to the aged" Proverbs 17: 6a

How true!! See these six "crowns" above? They bring us so much joy. Yesterday was Father's Day and we spent the afternoon by the pool. After church we stopped by KFC and bought a bucket of chicken and sides to make it easy on this mom. By the time we got home the three boys above were already in the pool with their dad, but we had no trouble getting them out to eat. Having the three girls here would have made it even better. However, we did spend some time with them a few weeks ago. After swimming most of the afternoon, our daughter and her family left and it was just us. It sure was quiet, but we both spent time expressing how blessed we are. Children (and grandchildren) are a blessing. Hope your day was wonderful too!

CRAWFISH BOIL

See this yummy crawfish/boiled potatoes, corn, smoked sausage, mushrooms, etc.? Our son and his family brought crawfish when they came up this week and he did a crawfish boil for some of his high school friends and their families last night.

Here's the chef. I caught him with his mouth full.
The highlight of the night for the little kids was the slide. It was SO SCARY from the top....but with "swimmys" & tubes.....they mastered the slide. This is Mattson about to hit the water.

So many of the guys have children about the same age. Ella, Taylor, Maddie, Mattson, & Griffin are having a little chat.

The best behaved little ladies of the night were Sophie & Natalee. No trouble at all.....didn't have to worry about them jumping in the pool.

I loved seeing the guys together again and hearing them talk about their days back in school. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!

BEAUTY IN BLOOM

As you look around our yard you see flowers in full bloom. The hanging basket above is a geranium that has so many blooms until I'm afraid they are about to break. It hangs between two pots of white petunias.

This is one of the beds at the corner of the pool area. It has just an assortment of flowers. The red ones above have been transplanted several times and originally came from my mother's yard.

I believe the white petunias might be my favorite right now. They are loaded with blooms and will continue throughout the summer as long as I pull the dead blooms off daily. I've always had colored petunias but love the white ones. These baskets are hanging on my side porch by the pool. It's nice to see all the beautiful colors as all of my flowers are blooming now.