What's New...

Since day one that we moved into the house, we had plans on putting white lattice work over the holes under the front porch.  As the past three years slipped by, it kinda got forgotten about.  I saw a picture of a house that could be ours, in a magazine and there was the white lattice work on it.  Asking Chuck several times, when we were going to get the lattice, he went to town the other day with the truck and came home with all of the 2 x 4's and the lattice for it all.  He spent the next day, cutting all of the wood, painting them and cutting the lattice.  What a difference it makes!!  The house finally looks like it's done.  The next front yard project will be a paver walkway in front of the steps.  ( that was in the magazine picture also)  It might be next summer before we are enjoying the walkway, but the picture from the magazine is on the refrigerator ....just so we don't forget about it over the winter.

Happy Birthday to Me

GiGi's cupcake 

Tea Towel from Gene

My birthday cards!

 Hummingbird Tea Pot from Debbie

Vintage style  Mason Jars from Debbie

Pretty blue/white plate from Kathy

Fabric and pattern from Vickie

Fun fabric from Kathy 

Even though this hasn't been the best year of my life, I did have a nice birthday.  Chuck and I went out to lunch and then we stopped by "GiGi's cupcakes to get my birthday cupcake.  I wait all year to have one.  It makes me enjoy it that much more.  That night, we went to some friends house for dinner and to play cards.  It turned out to be so much fun, that the six of us are going to get together once a month at each other's house for it.
    My friends sent me wonderful presents!  Debbie in Florida, sent me a beautiful hummingbird tea pot and a box of Vintage Style blue mason jars.  Isn't it funny how when you get old, a box of jars makes your day!...ha.  Kathy sent me a great box of things.  A beautiful blue/white plate for my dining room wall, a yard of fun fabric and a gift card for what ever I want to buy.  It will probably be used on something to do with "sewing".  Not sure yet.  That's half the fun, figuring out what you want to spend it on.  Vickie sent me the cutest package of fabric and a pattern to use it all on.  When we were in Cecil for C.Mac Johnson day, Gene and her mom gave me my birthday also.  Gene gave me a neat, burlap purse and inside was a birthday tea towel and some pretty purple/white plates to hang on my bedroom wall.  Her Mom gave me the cutest red rooster cream pitcher.  A couple of days after my birthday, I was still getting cards.  I love it when I can extend my birthday for a few days.  Along with Christina's birthday wishes, was a gift card for Starbucks.  When Christina was here for my birthday, two years ago, we went to Starbucks for coffee.  It was Christina's first Starbucks and now it's a great memory for both of us.  All in all, like I said, I had a very nice birthday.  I got birthday wishes in phone calls from both of my children.  This weekend, Genavive called to wish me a happy birthday.  She was at camp all last week and couldn't call.  It's bitter sweet being another year older, as you all know.  I think I'm going to go with the " sweet part" of it though.  I'm glad to be another year older!!! "Happy Birthday to Me!".

Raccoon Times Three!

We've been having "raccoon problems"around the house.  Every night, they come and empty all of the bird feeders and come up on the front porch and use George's water bowl.  They have even come to the back yard feeder at 4:00 pm, in the day light.  We had bought a trap that was suppose to be made for raccoons  but when we caught one, one night, he tore the trap up and got away.  So, Chuck took the trap back to Tractor Supply and got our money back.  We went to Home Depot and bought the famous " Have a Heart" trap.  It worked!!  Chuck set it three nights in a row and every night, we caught a raccoon.  Each morning, Chuck loaded it up on the truck and took it waaaaay down the road, almost to the forest and let it out.  I don't have anything against raccoons, I just don't want them living around the house.  We think there might be at least one more hanging out under the TT because the feeders have been empty again in the mornings.  The last couple of nights, Chuck has set the trap ( with cat food) and who ever is coming around, figured out a way to reach in and pull the cat food can to the edge of the trap and eat the food.  ....ugh.  We're gonna try setting it with a hot dog again.  Who ever it is, they sure are smart rascals!!  We'll get it though.  You just wait little masked bandit!!!

Peach Time!!

You know it's the middle of summer because it's " peach time"!  All the produce stands and farmer's markets have baskets and baskets of beautiful peaches.  Every summer when we would go to Gene and George's we would always take home a huge basket of peaches with us because you sure couldn't get them in Florida unless you found someone who had gone to Georgia or Alabama to get them and then they would resale them for such a high price, you would have to mortgage the house to get a whole basket of them.  I decided to can peach pie filling with the ones we bought when we stopped at Durbins north of Montgomery. I have " a pie plate for two" that only takes a quart jar of filling and it makes a pie big enough for two people to have a couple of slices and you aren't stuck with this huge pie to eat before it goes bad or your blood sugar goes to the moon and back.  We sure will enjoy our little pies with our tea this winter and remember our hot summer days, the trip south for C. Mac Johnson Day and that it will be fresh peach time again before we know it.  

Heading South

We're headed South  to Montgomery/Cecil

Almost there!

You can buy Alabama watermelon? 

One of Gene's Mom's courtyards

The addition to the house

New deck over looking the pond

The moss doesn't grow north of Montgomery  

It's always so much fun to head South to Gene and George's .  It's "home" but not.  There is moss hanging in the trees, the house has an addition added to it for Gene's Mom to live close by, all the rooms have been switched around and it's so fun to get new ideas for our house and yard.  This trip, Chuck and I got to spend the night over at the " Lodge" since Becca/Ro and the boys where there, staying in the guest room.
  I wonder how many times in the 42 years we have made the trip to Gene and George's and all the memories we have!!  Of course most of those trips we were heading " north not south".  Eight hours of " north".  Oh how I dreaded those long eight hours but they were so worth it once you got out of the car and had all the fun for the few days we were there.  Even back then, I wanted to live in Alabama where there were four seasons and wonderful people.  I never knew that it would actually happen for me one day.  The eight hour trip is only three hours now and I can actually take home all the fun ideas that I get from Gene and her Mom and actually do them because I have the same rooms in the house and I can grow all the fun plants in the yard that they share with me.  This trip, Gene's Mom gave me one of her "famous hummingbird feeders".  When the lodge was her house, she had over 125 hummingbirds come every year to her big feeders at her kitchen window.  It was wonderful fun to stand at the sink and watch them all.  Now that she has moved over to her addition to Gene and George's house, the hummingbirds didn't follow her.  She only has a few come visit so she doesn't need the three or four big feeders.  I feel so lucky that she has shared one with us.  Maybe the word will get out in Northern Alabama that we have one of the famous feeders and we will have a 100 hummers come to visit.  We'll see.  So far our usual four or five at a time have been drinking from it.  Until it's time to head " south" again,  I will enjoy the heirloom day lilies that Gene shared and the famous hummingbird feeder and all of my "Birthday presents" I received this trip.  My ideas are all dancing around in my head that I picked up down there.  I'm sure a few will jump out to change Brambly Pines, just a little bit.  

Jacob Fun!

Jacob's shoes

We were all standing by the table where they had the watermelon eating contest at C. Mac Johnson Day and right behind it, was a big blow up" jumpy thingy" for the kids.  Gene says " where is Jacob?" and we all turn around to start looking for him.  There were his shoes and we look up and  he was in the middle of the " jumpy thingy".  I guess he had been in one before because he knew he had to take his shoes off to go in there.

Blueberry Jam Day

One day last week, I decided I had better do something with all the fresh blueberries and the ten quart bags of frozen berries in the freezer.  Between the left over frozen ones from last summer and the large bags that our neighbor, Lydia brought us, ( she has 17 blueberry bushes in her back yard)Plus the gallon that we picked when Genavive was here.   I decided I should make blueberry jam.  The first batch I made without sugar.  I had made some like that at a work shop I had gone to last summer at the County Extension. It's tart, but really good.   The next batch I did normally with all the sugar.  I ended up with 19 jars of jam and I STILL have 7 more quart bags of frozen berries in the freezer.  That's a lot of blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins to make.  I'm thinking...another batch of jam?

Wonderful Produce!!!!

It's a Vegetarian dream.....having all this pretty produce to chose from.  It's all so prefect.  It could be in pictures of a magazine.  You want to just take some of everything home with you. even if you aren't a Vegetarian.  We bought some Peaches and Cream corn.  Everyone was raving about it and I just had to try it.  Also bought some beautiful tomatoes.  On the way down to Montgomery, we had stopped at Durbins ( the best produce place in Alabama for peaches) and bought a watermelon and a large basket of peaches, along with a huge cantaloupe that Gene had requested when we called to see if they wanted anything.  We came home loaded with wonderful produce.  With all of our garden pickings and this produce,  our kitchen looks like we could open our own produce stand....ha.  Now I have to get busy and can my peach pie filling and figure out how I want to use up all the rest of great veggies and fruit.  Summer is the greatest!!!!!

C.Mac Johnson Day!

Shucking corn contest

Lanier ( in red) in watermelon eating contest

Lanier's picture that was in the Montgomery newspaper the next day.  

Commissioner of Agr. presenting Gene a gift basket

Chuck and George

A part of the Johnson Family

Ro and Gene....Ro was out buying produce to take home when the family pic was taken. 

Forty three years ago, Mac Johnson helped to start up the State Farmer's Market in Montgomery.  It has been going strong ever since.  Every year, they have a special day in July to honor Mac.  It's called the C. Mac Johnson Farmers Market Day.  It's a big event for the Johnson Family.  Yes, Chuck and I are included in the family since we have known them for over 41 years.  We truly do feel like we are Johnson's.  The day included a corn shucking contest, a watermelon eating contest, free corn and watermelon...all you could eat.  The announcements from the Commissioner of Agriculture and the presentation of the gift to the Johnson Family.  Every year, they send special C. Mac Johnson Day tee shirts for the family to wear.  Gene's Mom has a quilt made up of several of the shirts from over the years, hanging on her entry way hall.  It was a fun trip down to Montgomery not only for C. Mac Johnson Day, but to spend a couple of days visiting with Gene, George, Jacob, Gene's Mom, Becca, Ro, Lanier and Davis.   Our Alabama family!

The Forest the Day After

The flooded Sipsey

Michelle by the waterfall

Mother  Nature's garden

Oak leaf Hydrangea 

Kinlock Falls

Chuck always gets on line and checks on how the water rises in the Sipsey in the forest when it rains.  Of course with all the rain ...over 8 inches on July 4th we had, it meant a trip to the forest to see the water rushing down the river and falling fast off the waterfalls.  We weren't disappointed.  I wanted to take the kayak down the Sipsey sooooo badly.  It would have been fun but dangerous.  It won't be long before the water will be back to normal.  It even had dropped a few feet while we were there.  We're having a very wet summer so I'm hoping by the time I can kayak in September, the river will be up enough for fun.