Container Gardening

Well, it looks like it is going to be a nice day today....a great day for working in the yard and practicing my container gardening. It's coming a long fine - can;t wait for some fresh veggies. Here are some pics from a few weeks ago.

Someone wanted to see a photo of the Out House in the backyard - so here it is

I will have cucumbers someday. I hope.


and yellow squash........

and zuchinini. Will they ever reach the top of the trellis??

That's it for today!!

June -- A Month Of Birthdays

Well, June is a month of birthdays in our family. In the "olden days" when my mother was alive there was always a picnic to celebrate all the June birthdays. However, these days are different but it didn't stop the celebrations.

My sister in law, Emogene was genuinely surprised with a celebration of her 75th birthday. It is really hard to keep a secret from Emogene but this one was well kept.

She had guests arrive from as far away as Wisconsin and North Carolina. I had spoken with her the day before. She was all in a dither. She had a housefull of company, Vacation Bible School starting, unexpected guests arrive and she was expected at a potluck where she was to bring food. I was a very good girl and didn't give it away but I did get a chuckle out of the fact her "dither" would dissipate once she found out what was really going on. From the reports I got it was a Great Celebration and a fun time was had by all.

As always click on photos for larger size

The next birthday was my baby sister June. She celebrated her 55th birthday on the 17th. June is the sister I am closest too. We share a lot of the same likes and dislikes. She loves to travel, is a whiz at working jigsaw puzzles and loves to collect frogs.

She is very friendly and outgoing and she is one that never forgets. She has so many peoples birthdays stored in her brain she doesn't even need a calendar. If I need to know a date I just call June.

One of her special loves is Idaho Spuds "the candy bar". I know in her lifetime she has eaten her weight in them at least once of twice. Now, with her diabetes and having to take insulin she can't eat them much anymore but I believe it would be okay to sneak "just one" on your birthday.

During the illness and death of her only daughter, Jenny, she exhibited a great resolve during such a difficult time. I was so proud of her for standing by her convictions and beliefs. She amazed me as well as the rest of our family.

We plan to take a trip to Vermont this fall to see the "colors" and I look forward to spending some quality time with my baby sis.

Next on the lists of birthdays for June is my Older Brother Doran. Even though we are a few years apart (He is 77 and I am 24) I always tease him about being older. I was happy to spend the last couple birthdays with him. Unfortunately this year I was unable to see him for his birthday. That's okay, Doran we will plan on celebrating when we get together.

My first memory of my brother was of him pulling his little wagon with the sideboards on it through the yard. He would load it with wood from the woodpile and pull it to the back door of the porch where he would unload it into the woodbox . He hauled a lot of wood with that little wagon.

Another memory was the night my great grandmother died. He had a really terrific earache tht night. He had his ears stuffed with cotton and he got to sleep by the fire that night in order to stay warm.

He has always loved horses. Growing up we had two old horses, Dan and Sam. He trained Old Dan to do tricks. He built a little table and taught that horse to climb on that little table with all four feet. He rode and showed his horses in horse shows . He taught both his son and his grandson to ride and I am sure he will continue the tradition with his great grandson Matt. After he retired he worked on the Mariott Ranch in Virginia and also on the Haythorn Ranch in Nebraska.

Doran, You are my favorite cowboy and I am so very proud to call you brother.

The next birthday on my list is Dick, the father of my children. As far as fathers go you couldn't ask for a better father and grandfather. We have always shared everything when it came to our children and now the grandchildren. If there is a family decision to be made it is made together. In some families when there is a split there are hard feelings and lots of bitterness. We have always made an effort to make sure that did not happen in our family. We are great friends and still share the same family values we have for the last 40 plus years. (Another person that is a lot older than me).

On June 29th my nephew, Dock will celebrate his 44th birthday. It' hard to believe he was so tiny when his mother brought him home from the hospital---and now look at him...my how that boy has grown!! Gotta be that good Southern cookin' that makes a boy grow so tall.


I know I have not mentioned all the birthdays in our family in June. There is Debbie, and my Aunt June and my cousin Dearl and my brother in law Harold and no doubt one or two that I have forgotten about. I am sure my sister will remind me. She remembers them all.

Tht's it for today!!

High Tech

Well, I had good intentions of blogging every day but I missed the very first one. I have a couple started I have to go back and finish. I will let you know when they are posted. Time flies when you're having fun!!

I haven't had much fun - mostly work. Still unpacking all those umpteen boxes but I do believe I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The grandkids came for a sleepover with their Grandma They had lots of fun programming Grandma's new Blackberry phone. I would have been so frustrated and overwhelmed ((still am).

If you have anything electronic give it to a kid - 30 seconds later you have a new ringtone, and a push of a few more buttons - WOW!! There's the internet, facebook and my email. My old address book stayed with my old phone . A touch of a button and it was there just like my old one. I know there will be a big learning curve. So far I know what to do with the red button and the green button.

I gotta hand it to these young kids - they are so smart when it comes to this electronic stuff and here I sit in the dark ages with my two cans and a string wondering which can I speak into and which one I listen with.

Thanks girls for keeping Grandma "High Tech" -- now if I only could master that texting.

Lord give me smaller fingers or bigger buttons!

That's it for today.

No More Cyber Friends

Gordon's reaction to meeting his long time cyber friend, Jenny J. .....Priceless!!

Well, It was an absolutely awesome day. The weather was absolutely perfect…not too hot - not too cold, The skies were a brilliant blue with white puffy clouds moving overhead. Every once in awhile a cloud would cover the sun and then pop back out again.

The other reason it was a GREAT day was I was meeting my cyber friends Gordon and Juanita and Bodie for the very first time. I have corresponded off and on with them for the last couple years and followed their journal Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet for a couple of years now. From the Southwest to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to South Dakota, Idaho, the Oregon Coast and all the way to Alaska, Back to Texas for the winter and their trek to the Northwest this year.

They recently spent a month in Southern Idaho . I was delighted to find they were going to Missoula and would be coming through Spokane. We tried to connect on Wednesday afternoon but were unable to do so but today was set aside for that very first meeting.

It was a great drive on US 395 about 25 miles north of Spokane to Deer Park. There wasn’t very much traffic and the only construction was a detour in Deer Park. The problem was the communication between the driver and the GPS system. And as everyone knows - the GPS system is always right - at least this one is.

Sometimes when you’re meeting someone for the first time you are a little apprehensive-- not the case here --- how do you describe someone who greets you with a hug and a great big “You’re not a cyber friend any more”. It was just as if we had known each other for years.

Even Bodie's not a cyber dog anymore. He is so well behaved.

What a beautiful 5th wheel they have.


Juanita takes Bodie for a walk.

Gordon and his lovely wife Juanita are both truly wonderful people and most gracious. After a tour of their lovely home we sat out in the sun for a few hours visiting until it got too warm and we moved into the shade. There was never a lull in the conversation . We found we have a lot of mutual RV friends and lots of similar interests. Juanita has whetted my appetite for sewing again -- so I am putting that on my to do list. I am off to JoAnn's for fabric and notions.

We finally decided it was time for a late lunch or early dinner so Gordon got on the internet and found a 4 star restaurant in Deer Park. We loaded up and followed Gordon and Juanita and their GPS to a vacant lot full of weeds in a housing development in a “remote” part of town. Great Going Gordon!! He righted himself and drove straight to the restaurant. I could have told him it was located right next to Les Schwab tires.

It was good food, and excellent company. I would have taken a photo but I left the camera in the car and I couldn’t talk REK into getting it for me. So no food photos.

We said our goodbyes to these fine people in the parking lot at Shagnasty’s and headed back to Spokane.

It was a very fine day and I especially want to thank Ed and Marilyn Dray for introducing me to my new friends Gordon and Juanita.

Not a bad photo of a 62 and a 24 year old!!

The trip back was uneventful until we got to Sprague and Argonne (the same road Gordon and Juanita followed yesterday). There were police cars around and a Q 6 news crew and I wondered what was going on. Got home and turned on the news - there had been a bank robbery on the corner there and they were searching for the suspect.

Beautiful drive, wonderful new friends, good food - you can’t ask for more - I am blessed.

That’s it for Today.

Friends Visit

Well, a lot of things hapeening here. One of the best was a visit from my RV friends Deb and Rod. They used to live in Florida although he was from Port Angeles WA and she is from California. A couple of years ago they retired, sold their house in Florida and went on the road full time. I met her in the RV Dreams chatroom when they had their house on the market and have followed them since they started their full time journey. It has been a great trip.

Last year when they were on their way to a workcamping gig in Washington they stopped by to see me...and this time too!! I was really excited to see them again and we had a great meal at a Mexican restaurant here in Spokane Valley. Here are the photos of our visit.

This photo says it all!!

Rod studies the menu

Deb say Hey Everybody!!






What'cha doing there Deb? Looking for something "red"?

Rod loved his dessert

RIGHT down to the very last spoonful -- and he didn't even share!!

Tummy Full -- he is a Happy Kamper


Aren't They Sweet!!

This year's Photo

A Great Time was had by All!!


And that's it for today!!

Oh My Goodness!!!

Oh My Goodness time flies when you are having fun!! My poor blog is really suffering. I have definitely neglected it this month and I need to get back in the groove. It is really hard to keep up.

A lot of people are moving around the country and I have to keep up with those people. I travel mny miles each day from Washington State to Southern Idaho, Montana, Missouri, Canada, Colorado, Texas, Louisana, North Carolina, California, Maine, Michigan, South Dakota, even all the way to Mexico. It is so much fun to travel with my friends. With the power of the internet and the worldwide web. I can go to all these places.

And then when I am through traveling.............

I can go to my Facebook to find out what my other friends are doing. I can go to Yoville and check in with even more of them to see what kind of house they have bought or what they are doing. When I am through with that I can go work on my farm in Farm Town. My farm really sufers because I forget to go there. The only thing I have grown is potatoes and even some of those even rotted because I forgot to harvest them. I need lots of help with my farm.


And then there is the game Bejeweled---I seem to spend a lot of time there too. Too much time as a matter of fact.

After that I can hop on into the RV Dreams Chat Room and catch up on all the news and maybe, just maybe get a couple of tips for when I start RVing.

Oh, and then there is that dreaded "H" word -- Housework!! I am still trying to get all these boxes unpacked...remember that photo of my clean desk last week -- and the box of office supplies sitting there.....well, It is still sitting there. I did dig through it looking for something. I didn't find it but now I forgot what it was.

And I have a new hobby....this house came with an attached greenhouse - and a greenhouse means growing things - like vegetables and flowers and such. It seemed like a waste to see that little greenhouse sit empty so I decided it needed a few seeds, and a few plants, and then a few more plants and before I knew it I almost had a real garden. Zuchinni, cucumbers, yellow squash, tomatoes, habaneros, marigolds, zinnias, petunias, geraniums. etc. Well, No one ever bothered to tell me plants have to be watered and cared for and it takes up a lot of time but I believe the end result will be well worth the time I am spending with them. I will take some photos in a day or two...

Right now, I think I will rest for awhile -- After all that work - I am really tired.

That's It For Today!!

A Little Fer Behind!!

Well, Its been over a week since I posted and I keep getting further behind. I have missed a ton of birthdays, Mac's, Dee's, Phyllis, John (FD),and Odie just to name a few. I also missed the birthday of my favorite sister in law, Emogene. (She is my favorite - because she is the only one I have) I hope everyone had a great birthday on their special day!!

I also missed the retirement of one of my friends, Speedy. He and his beautiful wife Sherri are embarking on their great RV adventure. Congratulations on your retirement Speedy and lets hope you continue to get that little piece of paper in the mail every month - you worked hard for it and you deserve it - along with the rest of the baby boomers who are turning 62 and some of us who are only 24. (LOL) Funny how that works.

Another thing I missed was the anniversary of Howard and Linda. Happy Anniversary - you two!!

If I have missed anyone it was not intentional - the memory is just not like it used to be.

On the home front here I am still surrounded by a mountain of boxes and cartons and those plastic tubs you collect stuff in. It's a lot easier to collect stuff in those because you can put the lid on and you can't see it. My problem is remembering what's in there.

A big plus to moving is my desk - it is very clean....probably the cleanest it has been since I bought it. I even took a picture (albeit not a very good one). I LOVE paper - I don't care what kind it is, lines or no lines, big or small, white or colored, printed or not-- it doesn't matter - just give me a pencil and a piece of paper and I can entertain myself for hours.

(note the plastic tub full of stuff that still needs to go on the desktop) and for you electricians those electrical cords are all straightened out now. The ziplock bag is full of my "emergency" desk supplies LOL. The box on top contains my electronics (mp3, cd player, that 4 gig thing, and all those little electronic parts I need to use once in awhile). And my digital photo frame. The second shelf holds my laptop - one can never have too many computers.

and here is the photos you can see on my computer background-- some of my favs!!




My desk gets cluttered with all that paper, but I can find everything except for when I want it - then I have to look for it. Not only do I have to have all that paper but I have to have all the things (in the tub) I need to use it within easy reach...at least a dozen pens, a few pencils and a couple of erasers, my stapler, tape, scissors, post it notes, empty cd's. my shorthand pad, my glasses, magnifying glass, my map, ruler or measuring tape, and the list goes on and on. By the time get all that "have to have" stuff on there there is little room to write. I have no clue where I will put my four sizes of envelopes.

And notebooks - don't get me started on those - I have at least a hundred chocked full of important things -- I did try to cut down on the amount of stuff I have on paper by buying one of those little 4 gig things that you can copy stuff to and read it later, however, it is not the same as having a piece of paper in my hand. I hold that little blue thing it in my hand and stare at it and I know there is lots of stuff on it but I can't read any of it and it is really hard to turn the page!! It's just not the same.

So today, I have decided that the unpacking will have to wait, while I catch up on the more important things, like blogging and chatting, facebook - (my poor farm is really suffering), playing bejeweled and the adventures of my many friends. I am also looking forward to a visit from some wonderful cyber friends. I CAN"T WAIT!!!!

I am off to a good start with the blog today. When you get out of the habit it is hard to get going again. I promise everything will get settled and I will be back in the swing. Swing - now that reminds me of another favorite childhood memory....stay tuned.

That's it for today.