coneflowers

We have coneflowers in our garden that grow like weeds . . . pretty weeds though. When I bought a new lens for my camera this summer I tested it out on the flowers.

clothespins

The farm isn't the only place I've photographed clothespins. When I found them in Dad's neighbor's yard I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Unfortunately I have no clothesline in my own backyard. I remember how wonderful it is to sleep in a bed with clean sheets that have dried outdoors. On the farm Mom would hang clothes outside even in quite chilly weather. We would bring in frozen stiff towels & jeans off the line & let them finish drying in the dryer.

beautiful baskets

My trip last weekend to Colorado was inspired by my friend, Christy. We were eating lunch one day talking about our mutual friend, Mary, who lives in Ft. Collins. Christy offhandedly said that she & Mary used to grocery shop together! I commented that they must have been really close friends. Christy agreed. My next thought was that Christy should really go see Mary . . . and I could drive her there . . . road trip!! It all transpired in a short period of time which can be a good thing. Christy is a real homebody so if I had given her more time to think about this trip she may have changed her mind. I got to know Mary when we both lived in Camden, Arkansas in the early 1990's & our husbands worked together. We learned to weave baskets there. Eventually I quit making baskets but Mary took it to another level & has made some amazing utilitarian baskets & others that are pieces of art! So of course I had to take a few pictures. The last series of photos are of just one basket; I never did take a photo of the entire basket. I thought the different angles were more interesting. It was a great short trip where I got to visit with friends & family!

Ashley's birthday.

Ashley (Nancy's daughter) has the distinction of being born on Dad's birthday; she was born the year he turned 60! That has created a special bond between them. Every year she makes a point of spending part of her birthday with her grandfather. Through the years we've watched Ash grow up in photos with Dad on their birthday & other special events. (I can only take credit for the 2 most recent photos.)

The day of Mom's funeral.

Dad helping Ashley celebrate her wedding day in 2008.

Happy Anniversary!

Heather & Don celebrated their 11th anniversary earlier this month! I requested they send me a photo for my blog; they sent me this great photo. I love it! They also contributed the following photo for the "hand" calendar!

Colorado trip

Today is Ted & Yvonne's 18th anniversary! Congratulations! Happy Birthday to Yvonne also (yes, she got married on her birthday!)(and a belated one to Ted who had a birthday earlier this month). I made a quick trip to Colorado this past weekend & spent Saturday night at their home. What I learned about Yvonne is that she mostly works from home now. She still works for HP (Hewlitt Packard) and does accounting type work (it sounds complicated). She drinks hot tea every day. Ted works long hours every day and would like to work less. He has seen deer in his yard & a bear in his garage.

David celebrated his birthday in July. He turned 14 and is counting the days until he is 15 & has a learner's permit. He can figure out a Rubik's cube in seconds. He has 2 electric guitars and one acoustic guitar; and also plays a French horn. He is double jointed and has 2 hollow legs (according to his parents).


Abby plays the flute, the piccolo and the piano. She played something on the piano & it was wonderful. I wish I could sit & listen to her every day. I asked David to make a video & post it to Youtube so I could listen to her again.

Rilla is their 6 year old Lab. She usually has something in her mouth. She even took this duck on a walk with us. She is very polite though.



There is park land near Ted's home that they walk on regularly; Ted & David gave me a tour.




It was a great visit!

Happy Birthday, Gene!

Today is Gene's birthday! I took this portrait of him in July the day of Krista's party. We were in the barn & had made our way up into the hay loft. I had not been up there since I was a kid. And I wouldn't have been up there that day either if Gene hadn't helped me up there. A fascinating place to be. As a kid I always had some trepidation about going up there. Now it's mostly a roosting place (and bathroom) for pigeons. You can see where the roof has worn away & sunlight filters through the rafters. It was a great place to shoot a few pictures.

Happy Birthday, Elena!

This past Saturday was Elena's first birthday! Photo complements of Heather & Don.

little bad wolf

Zeke continues to remind us how he got his nickname.

Audrey at the beach.

These delightful photos were sent to me by Becky after their recent trip to the beach.

Salsa!

Nancy & Jason arrived yesterday evening for an assortment of doctor appointments at Madonna today. Hearing of my bounty of tomatoes Nancy helped me make a batch of salsa! We used up 10 pounds of tomatoes (yeah!) & canned 9 pints (there's another 1 1/2 quarts in the frig). I learned how to do a hot water bath to seal the jars. We had to use pints as I don't have a canner deep enough to accommodate quart jars. The recipe also included onions, bell peppers, jalapenos (10!), tomato paste, white vinegar, brown sugar and salt. The right amount of heat. Thanks Nancy! A job like this is so much more fun when you have help. Nancy peeled & crushed the tomatoes while I diced peppers & onions. Let me know if you want the exact recipe.

Birthday wishes to Nick!

Nick celebrated his birthday a week after his Dad's (yes I'm still catching up on July birthdays). He is a proud papa to Hannah. This photo was taken this past weekend by Nancy when Hannah was baptized.

Mike turns 50!

Blue Hill celebrates! Photo courtesy of Nancy.


This photo was taken last year for Mike's 50th birthday! He hasn't aged any but Jayden has. Nancy surprised him with a party a year in advance. He turned 50 on July 22 and it was a quiet day doing routine things. After the year he's had I'm sure he enjoyed that.

Happy (belated) Birthday to Jim

Jim graciously let me take this picture of him & AJ (short for Alan Jackson) this summer when Don & I stopped there on our way to see Austin in Iowa City. It's for my calendar; "hands" is the theme as most of you already know. And belated birthday wishes to Deb (I actually started my blog on her birthday in July!).

Happy Birthday, Nancy!!

Happy Birthday to Nancy & belatedly to Connie! August is the birthday month for our family. I have vacillated about recognizing birthdays (there are so many!) but since it is a blog for family (and other things) I have decided I need to make an effort! This photo was taken in July at Krista's party; it's our "Sissy" picture! I will catch up with the guys in future posts.

Hannah

Nick & Amy's daughter, Hannah, was born the end of April. This photo was taken July 18 so she doesn't even look like this anymore. But she is an angel!

Connie holding Hannah in July.

Amy & Hannah on June 27.