A lazy blogger

This picture was taken right before a summer storm rolled in. The rainbow curved around the cloud. It was so vivid.

That's me...a lazy blogger. Too many things going on right now and very little motivation to post.

This month we went back to school. I had to move classrooms again and it took me awhile to get settled. I have made it known that if I move again, it will be out of the building to another school. I'm tired of packing and unpacking every year. I was a little leery of my students this year. They had earned themselves quite a reputation last year. So far, they are great and I couldn't ask for better students.

Clay's off to college. The paperwork was unending and I'm not sure we still have everything in order. He came home last weekend to spend time with his best friend who left Monday for boot camp. His parents had a going-away party on Sunday evening and the boys started to relive their past exploits. Most of them were harmless but a few involved putting one of the boys in the car trunk and another involved being pulled over by the Pennsylvania State Patrol. Luckily, no one was harmed (or arrested). We did finally find out why Bob's Army Ranger tag on the front of his truck was bent. (For the longest time, no one at our house had any idea how that happened.) He also found out that his truck had made it to the top of Bell Mountain and went through a creek in Cooper's Creek that came up to the hood. The truck keys have now been moved to a safe location and poor Adam won't ever get a chance to drive the truck.

Zach and Adam are playing football. They both had their first games this week and both teams won. Adam is a lineman on the middle school team. He is one of the bigger boys on the team and is showing a lot of potential. He made several good plays. Zach is playing Corner and had quite a few tackles last night. He loves to tackle and he hits hard. It is fun to watch them play. Both of them practice five days a week. Adam finishes practice around 6 PM and Zach finishes around 7 PM. It makes for some very long days at our house.

The canning season is coming to an end. I have a few tomatoes and green beans left to can. I also plan to can applesauce in the next week or so. After that, I'll pack up the canner. I didn't can as much this year. My garden was pitiful and I've relied on generous neighbors to help fill my jars. My mom and dad are on a trip to Alaska. Dad was worried that his garden would "go to waste" so I've canned beans, carrots, and tomatoes from their garden.

August is almost over and one of my favorite months is about the arrive. I love September. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity make it a perfect season in the North Ga mountains. October is always beautiful and I enjoy the colorful leaves, but a part of me hates to see the green go away.

2010 Canning Season has begun

Peach Pie Filling

I'm getting a late start on this year's canning season. My garden is so bad that it is embarrassing. I should probably just pull up the tomato plants and put them out of their misery. Thankfully, my dad always has a garden with plenty to share. I've canned blueberry syrup, blueberry butter, and peach pie filling this week. I hope to get started on green beans and tomatoes tomorrow. I bought a new Ball Canning book this winter and I'm itching to try out a few new recipes.

I've also created a new blog to keep all my recipes. I'm always coming across a new recipe on the internet and then promptly forgetting about it. My hope is to create a virtual recipe box as a reference.

Quotes of the week

You know how your kids say something really funny and you think you'll remember it forever? Well, no matter how hard I try to remember, I forget. Then I wish I had taken the time to write down those funny moments. So here's my feeble attempt to keep up with those funny moments...

Adam: "Clay is amazed with his new truck. I rode with him the other day and all he could talk about was how amazing his truck was and all the things it can do. I think he's in love with it."

Adam: (A little background: my dad was complaining about the traffic in a nearby town) "Well Papa, you know the reason they are all in town is to celebrate Mom's birthday. It is a national celebration you know!"

This one wins the "snarky" comment of the week. Background....it is 11 PM on a Sat. night. He's hungry and tired which make a deadly combination. I hear him scratching around in the kitchen looking for something to eat. He comes to my bedroom door to ask if we have any mayo. We don't because I'm trying to get rid of the preservatives and I made a batch of homemade mayo. He isn't too pleased with my efforts to rid the kitchen of preservatives...

Zach: "What do you do when you go to the grocery store? Stand and stare at the wall for 30 minutes?"

OK, for some reason that one just cracks me up. Maybe is has to do with the fact that I can go to grocery store and within 5 seconds of walking through the door completely forget what I needed to buy.

A day playing at the lake

Adam and I gathered up my niece and nephews for a visit to the lake. This lake is close to my parent's house. When I as their age, I spent many hot summer afternoons swimming in the cold mountain water.

It's fun to watch your kids make their own memories at places that are special to you.

Adam and Colton

Cage. He has sand on his face because Colton kept trying to throw sand toward the lake...but his aim is a little off. It wasn't safe to be within five feet of him when he was throwing sand.

Adam, Avery, and a friend on the dock. They are probably planning their next cannonball. They splashed so much that I'm sure the lake level dropped a few inches.

The twins spent most of the afternoon digging in the sand. I borrowed a couple of serving spoons and plastic containers from my mom. Just the things to keep a couple of two year old boys busy.

New Solar Panels

Our solar panels will be up and running next week. We talked about getting the panels for several months. We finally took the plunge and made the commitment. The tax credits right now are hard to pass up.

Happy 4th of July

Picture taken at Brasstown Bald ~ June 2007

Best wishes for a safe and happy 4th of July.

June....please come back

Somehow June slipped by too fast. I love June. The weather is usually just right...warm and only slightly muggy. Unfortunately we went from a cool May (froze at graduation) to July in less than 24 hours. I walk outside my house and it is a sauna. Georgia summers at their finest. This is the time of year when the only trips I want to make is either the lake or to my parents' home (they live at a higher elevation). I hate coming "down" out of the mountains. The temperature is always a few degrees higher and the humidity is oppressive. So what happened around here in June?

Not much.

All those projects I had lined up are still waiting. I did manage to purge my kitchen of an embarrassing amount of mismatched plastic. Bob installed some nifty cabinet drawer thingys (sp?) that are WONDERFUL! Love them, wish I had sucked it up and bought them years ago...

I finally went to Home Depot, bought a can of spray paint, and spray painted the greenhouse lights that have been sitting in my storage room for four years. I'll post pictures later on. Let me just say that Oiled Bronze spray paint is awesome. The results were very good.

This guy turned 19. I was a newlywed at 19. Now I understand why my dad isn't smiling in any of my wedding photos. 19. I can't believe I have a 19 year old. I can't believe I thought I was so "mature" at 19. I thought Bob, who was 23, was really old and mature :-)

These two guys celebrated their 2nd birthday in June. I'd forgotten how precious a two year old can be. They are so funny. You should hear them say "Bob." It is absolutely adorable. My brother and sister-in-law will be the first to tell you that they are blessed.

I got my summer haircut. A couple of days before I went in to get it cut, I ran into a lady I work with. She commented on how good my hair looked that day. I thanked her for the compliment. Then she went on to explain why my hair looked so much better....it was nice and rounded at the crown, not flat and out of shape. Which made me wonder how many days did I show up at work with a flat crown? Obviously too many :( She then suggested that I take pictures to my hairdresser to avoid future flat crowns.

So, here is my "shapely rounded crown" self-portrait. Please note that I have been working with Photoshop this summer. It is an amazing program. I can erase wrinkles, brighten eyes, and add sparkle to lips. Now I need to figure out how to straighten a crooked nose....

All this to say...there is a reason June slipped by so fast. I think this picture pretty much sums up our June.