Ma's e-store pick of the week

I ordered kazoos and a pitch pipe on Monday aft/eve, and lo and behold, they arrived by UPS this afternoon!

What store, you ask?

Musician's Friend

Oh sure they were conveniently located in Kansas City, MO., but I say that is jolly good service. And they're having a warehouse moving sale, so hurry on over by cyberspace and have a looksee.

(now the kids and I can start practicing on our Glenn Miller song...)
 

Tweet

Bees and Birds

My beautiful Rugosa Rose bush is blooming :-)
(click on the picture to see the tiny bee at 5:00)

And as I attempted to photograph the flowers, I discovered a young grackle who'd been hiding...
...which reminded me of those young college guys who sorta need to shave but don't have a lot TO shave.

Then the papa grackle proceeded to make three fly-bys, coming within a foot of me each time. I mean, we're talkin' shades of Alfred Hitchcock, and Ma ain't jokin'.

And that's when I decided to go back indoors.

But not before I got another close-up.


In other news :-D only ONE MORE DAY of school with Nolan!

*cheers*

Then it's just some computer math drill for him over the summer.

Loren's Mayo check-up and Bible School next week...

Then a week's break...

Then the big Hoyt reunion...

July, which I think we actually have off...

Family camp...

Filling out forms for next school year...

Taking two kids off to college in opposite directions...

And where did the summer go?
 

Tweet

Rain is good

Particularly if the lawn has been mowed the day before.

And one gets to transplant little zinnia seedlings.

And weed out flower beds, switching the nasty big flowers from front to back.

And sprinkle some fertilizer on the garden, just as the thunder starts to rumble.

And run off down the road with a shovel and buckets and bags to purloin wildflowers from the ditch :-D

Ma's haul today?

-more Spiderwort
-two False Rue Anenome (and contrary to the spell-checker, I did NOT mean "pneumonia" or "genome")
-about seven rootings of Wild Rose. These will be tricky. Once they are established they will last forever...it's just so hard to make them live at first.

All this delicious rain will help.
_______________

In other news, we finished The Two Towers last night and will commence with Return of the King this evening.

Now, Ma's not a professional reader, but I do try to distinguish between orcs, Gollum and the rest. Even so, too much of an orc or whiny Sméagol is hard on the throat.

And if there is elven text to read, I just run through the syllables real fast, thinking high and noble thoughts and hoping the kids don't notice how lame it sounds.
_______________

In non-news, I'm sure we can ALL REST EASY, now that the whales have slipped out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Lots and lotsa of peoples were watching the ongoing drama and as Ariadne Green, 57, of Vallejo described, it was "a profound religious experience," just to catch a glimpse of them.

*sigh*

But the humpbacks have presumably escaped back to the ocean and one can't help but wonder how the major networks will be able to fill out the last five minutes of their evening news slots.

I'll worry about that later.

Right now I'm still basking in the afterglow of my face-to-face encounter with ditch roses.
 

Tweet

Hols of the day...

Several anniversaries of note, so let's get started:

Water a Flower Day

My Bucket's Got a Hole in it Day (see previous holiday)

May 30th is actually the real Memorial Day.

And today is also the anniversary of The First Daily American Newspaper Published. However, Ma had some trouble in digging up the dirt on that, so let's go to something Ma can find...

Loomis Day.

And WHAT is "Loomis Day," you might ask?

Don't feel bad...I didn't know either, so let's dispel the encroaching darkness of our collective ignorance :-)

Mahlon Loomis was the first wireless telegrapher. He never received the recognition for his accomplishments during his lifetime, which should give a lot of encouragement to those who claim they've been abducted by aliens and undergone brain surgery in a UFO.

But I don't wish to poke fun at Mr. Loomis, so if you've a notion, here's an interesting site that mentions Mahlon Loomis (just down the page a bit) as well as defines various terms used in describing "broadcasting."

In the meantime, don't forget to water the flowers.
 

Tweet

Is it diet time again?

There's been a fair amount of partying going on around this joint. The visit from our Kiwi rellies, and then Memorial Day and its ensuing cookout.

Happily and quite miraculously, Ma has not regained significant poundage. Even so I awoke this morning fully intending to start five days of the Idiot Proof Diet. Just a little touch-up before our anniversary next week.

But....THEN I remembered the leftover rhubarb cream pie in the fridge and suddenly, the overly ardent haze of sanctimonious self-improvement lifted, the veil of virtue vamoosed and I was released from the manic grip of caloric constraint.

I can always start the four-day diet tomorrow.

And speaking of anniversaries, Loren and I will be spending ours this year in an incredibly picturesque spot, a place renowned for both its seclusion yet surrounding community of compassion.

I speak of course of Rochester, Minnesota or as some prefer, Mayoland.

Just hazarding a guess, I would say Loren and I have spent five of the last ten anniversaries at the doctor. Yes, I mean the exact day.

Oh I realize many of you cannot hope to duplicate this experience but please, please....try not to be jealous. And above all, do not become bitter. Bitterness merely leads to rehashing perceived woes and before you know it, you're stuck with sarcastic old-lady-types writing reams of dreariness on blogs, just to keep themselves from going completely bonkers.

And the world doesn't need more of that.

But on to missed holidays.

Several have been neglected over the past weeks but we cannot hope to catch up on every one. I would draw your attention to something unique that occurred yesterday however, as May 28th was....

Slugs Return to Capistrano Day

Thought you'd want to know.

Historically speaking, the 29th is also the anniversary of:

Patent of the First Ice Cream Freezer. Some of the data can be found here.

Yes, a man got the patent but a woman did the inventing (i.e. real work) and it has her name on it :-D

Also, this is the anniversary of the first climbing of Mt. Everest. Let's hear it for Sir Edmund Hillary!

And one more item of note...today is also:

End of the Middle Ages Day Betcha didn't know it could be pinned down to one day. But since you heard it here folks, you can depend upon the accuracy and veracity just as you would depend on the stability of gas prices.

Or not.

But speaking of learning, I have a second-grader who needs to finish a coupla school subjects this week...
 

Tweet

Ma learns something new

So, I'm online shopping for kazoos, which is an experience that many of you have shared, I'm sure.

Anyway, being the careful consumer that I am--or at least as much as I can be plopped in front of my computer--I read several reviews and the following caught my eye:

This Kazoo is perfect for my gothic murder band. It nails the gory, violent, mobid, dark and evil sound I'm looking for right on the head. It makes our music heavier. We've gotten many compliments on how brutal we sound with our kazoo.

Right-O.

*checks name of reviewer*

HOO-kay...we can't print this cheery fellow's online name, and I didn't realize that kazoos played such in integral part in "death bands," or whatever they are. And methinks that whole musical genre would have a slight problem in the area of increasing listeners but hey, I am just a ma of ten. What do I know.

Well, except that Mr. I-am-SO-bad Singer/Guitar player misspelled "morbid" and "Gothic." (heh, heh)

Who needs that many brain cells, anyway?
 

Tweet

Oh Arrrrrr-dith....

Could you bring up a package of ordinary hot-dog buns for your sweet maman when you come today?

My usual store had com-PLETE-ly run out, so I bought brat buns. Now the brat buns will go nicely with the brats, but I seem to have a shortage of corresponding bunnage to go with the regular hot dogs that the little kids enjoy so much.

Naturally, the grocery store SHOULD have had the foresight to order extra buns for Memorial day weekend, but they are nice folks, try sorta hard and besides...one day I met the son of the manager in the dentist office while he was waiting for his wife's wisdom teeth to get pulled (which is a misnomer, for as we all know, they pound the teeth into smithereens and then fish out all the pieces...but I'm getting slightly off point) and he was a fine upstanding citizen and really congenial sort and so now I will be loyal to his dad's grocery store for life.

*huge intake of air*

So maybe you could bring up some hot dog buns?

Don't even worry about the fact that the little kids will have to eat naked hot dogs if you don't...

...and thanks for all the fish.
 

Tweet

Another Nephew Hitched :-)

Meet Matthew and Noelle Banek, alongside Linda Simons. Matthew is the second oldest son of Loren's sister Nelda, who is married to Walter Banek.

Linda is my blog friend down in Texas who goes by the posting name of Thainamu. It was she/her/that woman who took some WONDERFUL pictures while attending the wedding in lieu of us.

Linda and her husband Gary live in Dallas...the wedding was in Dallas...it all seemed to fit. You can check it out on Thainamu's blog, or go right to the web album with the pics.

I'll try to give a quickie rundown of people:

--stained glass window :-D
--Matthew's younger brother, Ryan, practicing going down the aisle with...uh, someone, who looks like she could be the bride's sister.
--more practice, and someone (cousin Chris or Greg, son of Loren's brother Mark) has his arm in a sling--what's up with that ? Crazy Aunt Becky needs details.
--a real bagpiper!
--white cake with groom and bride initials
--the real wedding cake, chocolate variety
--fancy cakish concoction
--Cousin Laura Lee, only daughter of Loren's brother Mark, eyes the buffet table. (I hope you ate some for Aunt Becky, my dear, and that you'll forgive me if I misspelled your name...)
--more buffet table exuberance, this time it's Mark. The mysterious woman in orange looks to be Nora, wife of Loren's older brother Stan.
--persons already pictured above :-)
--mother and father of the groom, Nelda and Walter Banek, with photographer Linda sandwiched in between. Walter is the minister for The Good Shepherd Reformed Episcopal Church of Tyler, Texas.
--Linda (again!) and Bethany, fifth child of Stan and Nora. Bethany is Ardith's age and looks like someone you wouldn't want to turn your back on. Oh, I'm sure she's really very nice, heh, heh.
--Stan Hoyt, Loren's next older brother. Stan has a nicer camera than I do and takes exceptional pictures but of course, I would NEVER hold this against him.
--Bethany encore (getting a little pushy, dear?) beside Elizabeth, whose husband Galen passed away suddenly in 2003 from a heart attack. Elizabeth is basically EVERYONE's favorite aunt and sitting next is her youngest son Samuel. As I detect a blue cast it appears more bone breakage explanations are necessary...
--Photographer Stan (I don't know if he was the official photo guy, but he's always taking pictures, only much less annoyingly than I) Mark in background, bride and groom and what looks to be exuberant Alexander, youngest of Nelda and Walter's children.
--the official setting down of the champagne glasses
--the official cutting of the cake
--the official stuffing of the mouth
--the official kissypoo
--the official toast thing
--Bubbles! I love the way Linda captures some great bubbles while the bride and groom try to escape.
--more exiting. Nelda is in the middle of the group of people.
--more of the bubbly, by what appear to be female attendants in Chinesey dresses and what suspiciously look like bare feet....
--Chris Hoyt, eldest son of Mark and Laurie Ann, and recent winner of an organ contest somewhere in Texas. Was Chris the one who played the pipe organ for the wedding? The answer is out there, somewhere...
--three guys and an umbrella. OR, two ministers and a photographer-type person. OR, Loren's brother Stan, the officiating minister and Walter, father of the groom.

TA DA, The Last Picture....! I really like this one:
--Mark on the far left preparing to break a filling, and Linda Simons on the far right. She came with the guy in the middle (help me out with the name, Linda) who had done some programming work for SIL ministries, where Gary and Linda Simons are currently doing missionary work, (someone can correct me if I'm wrong) and is also a friend of Matthew's. SMALL WORLD, people. And looking beauteous in white is Linda's friend's "friend." :-D

Many thanks to Linda for attending the wedding in our stead, and to Matthew for okaying the deal, and especially to all the family members who treated Linda so well.

Wish we could have been there, but it is great to see the pictures, which reminds me...

...since my emails were erased I'll have to get Loren to send me another nephew's pictures from the wedding in April, and then there'll be another in June, so basically, they're falling like flies.

But nice flies. Very, very nice flies.
 

Tweet

A Memorial Day Prayer

Eternal God,
Creator of years, of centuries,
Lord of whatever is beyond time,
Maker of all species and master of all history --
How shall we speak to you
from our smallness and inconsequence?
Except that you have called us to worship you
in spirit and in truth;
You have dignified us with loves and loyalties;
You have lifted us up with your loving kindnesses.
Therefore we are bold to come before you without groveling
[though we sometimes feel that low]
and without fear
[though we are often anxious].
We sing with spirit and pray with courage
because you have dignified us;
You have redeemed us from the aimlessness
of things' going meaninglessly well.
God, lift the hearts of those
for whom this holiday is not just diversion,
but painful memory and continued deprivation.
Bless those whose dear ones have died
needlessly, wastefully [as it seems]
in accident or misadventure.
We remember with compassion those who have died
serving their countries
in the futility of combat.
There is none of us but must come to bereavement and separation,
when all the answers we are offered
fail the question death asks of each of us.
We believe that you will provide for us
as others have been provided with the fulfillment of
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

--author unknown
 

Tweet

Roadside Roses

Yea for wild roses in bloom!


I took this picture on the way to the semi-big city for shopping. The really nice thing is that though I absent-mindedly set my camera down between the seats AND LEFT IT THERE WHILE SHOPPING IN THE GOODWILL STORE, NO ONE NOTICED IT OR SWIPED IT.

So, it's been a good day and I'd have to say it certainly pays to drive a crummy looking car.

In other news, Loren was able to fix the lawn mower after the left rear wheel fell off. Not to worry, I only had to hold up the mower for the last 40 minutes on that busy, busy day last Monday when we were expecting company.

And frankly, it is easier to mow when all four wheels are working.

The lawn mowing occurred after I returned from grocery shopping. (cashmere sweater from Goodwill for 99 cents. One of these days I'm startin' a business on Ebay)

The shopping came about after...

...I finished work at the church, aided by rain which meant I didn't have to wash the glass doors :-D

Got to watch Veggie Tales with the kids which is always a fun bonding experience. (Hey, does anybody else think that butterfly landing on Madame Blueberry's house, tipping the balance so it falls over is a reference to Chaos Theory? I do)

Ooooo, I just remembered...the best part is that it's time for The Red Green Show.

Keep your stick on the ice.
 

Tweet

Ma's Newsy Nuggets

A feral theme today.

Thanks to Wilson--erstwhile grad student--for this little gem...
____________

This sounds like the plot of a Disney movie...except the bird gets plugged in the end...
____________

Saved the best for last...another wild hog of note!

Whoa Nellie! Now that's a lotta sausage.
 

Tweet

Off and on again

Excuse the silence, but we went lost our wireless connection on Wednesday night due to an electrical storm.

It is thought that a power surge fried the wireless modem. This has since been replaced by our provider, but things are not running top-notch, leading us to believe that some other part of the system--hardware under our jurisdiction--was damaged also.

Then again, one can never rule out intervention by space aliens.

[recent inquiry netted me the very informative answer, "There were some problems with our equipment," which could mean it was far too technical for me to understand or something even worse, a plug was not in it's outlet. At any rate, everything seems quite peachy at the moment]

ANYWAY, we've had a great visit with Loren's oldest brother, Bruce and his wife Lois. Bruce is a minister in the Reformed Church of New Zealand and even has a mention on Wikipedia and the RCNZ homepage :-)

Every so often Bruce gets to come over to the United States for a conference and since their eight children are all grown he and Lois came over together to get in visits with many people, the conference and a family reunion or two.


Bruce and Lois left this morning, making us somewhat sad. I think the kids will go through "rellies withdrawal" which I hope will not last too long. We are slated to finish up another one of Nolan's subjects for the school year today. [and indeed we did, though it was quite a struggle due to emotional trauma after it was discovered little brother had broken up Nolan's puzzle. But a few snacks helped to calm him down, though he answered his 60 catechism questions with a shaky voice...oh yeah, that went well]

School was officially supposed to end today, but I have a couple more subjects to finish up with Nolan next week, and being the exceptionally understanding teacher and mother that I am, I've extended a certain person's deadline on a certain paper...

We had a nice hymn sing around the kitchen table last night after supper, and then prevailed upon Bruce to favor us with a solo, "The Church's One Foundation," with Lois accompanying him on the piano.

Ardith had taken a half day off work and drove up to spend the afternoon and evening with us, so she was able to enjoy that with us, as well as us enjoy her company for a bit.

Despite this extra-Ardithness, the boys decided to let her come back again for Memorial Day.

Here's another picture taken at the farewell festivities...
...which apparently included "King of the Stump." Ethan can be seen attempting to dethrone King Nolan while Trevor sits atop his favorite chair, Jason, who is now forced to contemplate a return to work-like activities.

And speaking of which...though I'd prefer to sit here and blog the day away, people in this house have the annoying habit of getting hungry around noonish....*looks at watch*....which we are in the general vicinity of, though personally, if they would just do what I do--which is grab a Diet Cherry Coke and a few dill pickle chips--they wouldn't feel the need to bother me so often.

But as I keep telling myself, "Ma, you just can't expect everyone to be like you !"

For which we can all be thankful.
 

Tweet

Life in the Ditch

Let's hear it for rain! Finally some much needed moisture arrived this morning, nevertheless I was able to get out on a walk beforehand.

False Rue Anenome - isopyrum biternatum

From the Buttercup family

Given the name "false," this would suggest that there is a "true" anenome and indeed there is.

There is also a second type of false anenome, that of enemion biternatum

Quite an interesting background history can be found concerning these two wildflowers.

It seems a long standing grudge proliferated between the Rue Anenome and the False Rue Anenome--similar to that between the Tudors and the Stuarts--on the grounds that there can only be one true anenome that could ascend the buttercup throne. What started as a simple Ranunculaceae family spat grew into one of the most notorious herbaceous conflicts in all of mankind...

...I refer of course to The War of the Anenomes.

Further complications arose when a small faction of the (supposedly) False Rue Amenomes broke off, forming the Enemion Biternatum or what is known in colloquial terms as "Nyah nyah, nyah nyah nyah."

It was rumored that sepals of mass defoliation were being developed by these false anenomes, which called for outside intervention. This threatening condition was later ameliorated when it was noted that the original intelligence was obtained by looking through the wrong end of binoculars.

Whew...
...that was close.
 

Tweet

Life in the Ditch

First walk out-of-doors this spring. Boy did it feel great !

I love this old barn (or is it a corn-crib?) which is just down the road.


I found several wildflowers which couldn't be identified...
...but I can safely say this is violet.

Weird, short _grass-like stuff. I think it comes from outer-space.


Hey, I know what THIS is...corn, going off into infinity.


In other news, we are enjoying the visit from Bruce and Lois. A few forays into meaningful discussions already, and it's less than 24 hours :-D

The kids and I find a ready ear in Lois, PLUS, she folded my laundry for me this morning :-) (though I will miss the exercise of coming downstairs in my robe every morning, just to find clean clothes)

Loren and Bruce are hot into several endeavors: finding out if those red lights that come on in the car mean anything. Anything serious.

and,

Trying to build a laptop out of spare parts.

And in an attempt to engage in appropriate counter-balancing activity, I planted the last of my bedding flowers this afternoon.
 

Tweet

Hummingbird!

We've had several visit, but it is SO hard to get them in focus. Mostly because they don't stay long enough to have time to make adjustments to the camera.

But this shot is the most legible so far.

In other news, Loren left with Ethan around 7 a.m. to drive over Chicago way to pick up his oldest brother Bruce and wife Lois. They have just flown in from New Zealand and as you might imagine, the kids haven't seen this aunt and uncle very often.

I have to run Derek over for his pro-time, go in the opposite direction for Melinda's allergy medicine, and then mow half the lawn, finish some cleaning and oh...I don't know, make up the guest room, fix supper and possibly even plant some bedding flowers.

If Skunky doesn't get in my way.
 

Tweet

ALL-right...

...there are limits to my love of nature.

This little guy came around this morning as we were watching for birds...
...and again around 7:15 p.m.

Mommy! Can I go outside an' watch duh skunk?

Absolutely NOT!

Looking into the face of pure, unadulterated and odoriferous evil.

I can see no sign of a conscience.
 

Tweet

Gasping at God's Beauty

Indigo Bunting

Word's getting out in the bird world that this is the place to hang out!

The previous one (yes, there are two :-) chased this one away...
...and this one had more brilliant plumage.

What's going on here?

Ma is terribly happy.
 

Tweet

Madre e Hija Brunch

Time for ye annual Mother/Daughter get-together. This year we had a brunch.

We arrived a tad early and walked around looking at the lovely tables.

Here is one with Frappuccinos....mmmmmm, looks good.


Another with little bags of chocolate....*Ma's antennae go up*


And another with supplies for washing dishes.

And seven or eight more from which to choose.

Clearly it was going to be a tough decision, but after several seconds Ma pointed to the table with the chocolates and informed her daughters, "We're sitting here."

If you notice papers that look like crossword puzzles on each table you can consider yourself terribly bright. The first two to complete the studies of food-type answers would get a prize.

But FIRST, a mother and daughter from each table had to go up front and participate in a cake-baking contest.

The girls at one table....with unlabeled ingredients and no directions...


The moms at another table. Just bowls of stuff and no recipe.
Here we see Sandy Ritsema (left) and Jo Craig (animated person on right) discussing...soemthing.

Being the executive, take-charge person that I am, I volunteered Kendra to go from our table as well as Sandy for the moms. This was a thinly veiled ploy to give me more time to complete the crossword puzzle first.

However, the moms quickly threw their cake together and Sandy came back and STILL beat everyone with the puzzle. She got the prize and I am praying about not becoming bitter. (ha ha! Just kidding, Sandy :-) (even though I did help you with one answer...)

Oooooo, yummy food! Breakfast pizzas, muffins and tarts.
Just before the prayer, Nancy Wiekert looked back and announced that OUR table would go to the buffet first!

I'm thinkin' that pumping both fists and yelling "YES!!" was probably a mistake on my part.

*makes note to work on that whole "meek and quiet" thing*

Julie Schick gave the devotional, using the ingredients of bread and corresponding them to different aspects of the Christian life while Ma tried not to get hungry again.


Kendra's contribution, Breakfast Pizza. It looked even better before I cut it.
There was none left to take home, however.

Nice time :-)
 

Tweet

Life at Prairie Bridges Park

Despite no sign of goslings, there was plenty to see and smell at Prairie Bridges. Hanging in the air were the mixed aromas of various flowering shrubs. Breathing was almost like eating.

White Honeysuckle


Goose at rest. How they can sleep like this I'll never understand.


Not the greatest picture of a Catbird, but he flew in while I was leaning my elbows on the rail of a footbridge. The camera happened to be on and I didn't have time to change the exposure.


I love this though I don't know it's name. Just can't spend too much time on identification when there's so much to do. Be my guest and tell me what it is.
These white flowers are always hard to photograph without bleaching them out. Even though I lowered the exposure it wasn't enough. I did add shadow on the editing program.

Wild Columbine


A very cool Coot. Again, I couldn't stand like this.
Clicking on the above picture makes it look even better. Sorta dark and mysterious.

You'd think I could peg this wildflower, but I had trouble. Looks a bit like Wild Onion and also Wild Bergmot, yet doesn't fit precisely with the look or season.


Ahhh, another Honeysuckle. This time with pretty pink variegation.

 

Tweet

Today's Hol's

International Museum Day: not that there are any within 45 miles. I may have to put this on my list of "to-do's" for my long-awaited Ma's Day Out, which is fast approaching five whole days instead of the original two and a half.

Send an Electronic Greeting Card Day: hey, I've received a couple of these. Probably more popular with people who spend five or six hours per day in front of a computer, which is definitely....*looks at watch*...not me. Here's a place for us amateurs to check it out, but let me warn you...people over fifty still appreciate a card in the mail.

National Bike to Work Day: obviously originated from people who didn't have the 70 mile commute Loren used to have. (see Al Gore)

National Pizza Party Day: probably thought up by some pizza joint, but who doesn't love this concoction? You may have heard about the world's most expensive pizza. Personally, just give me a decent brand of supreme, throw in a Diet Cherry Coke and I'll be happy. And if I'm really feeling frisky I'll drink plain Cherry Coke.

Visit Your Relatives Day: we plan to celebrate next week, when Loren's brother and wife come from New Zealand.

Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day: my only question is...WHY?

No Dirty Dishes Day: yeah, right.

Birthday - Mother's Whistler: this one was a little confusing. Naturally I immediately thought of that famous painting by James McNeill Whistler, Whistler's Mother.

"Mother's Whistler" is a strange arrangement of the words, so I'm assuming this holiday site had a lack of editorial oversight.

May 18th is not the birthday of the artist so that leaves the anniversary of his mother's birth, she being the one who posed for the picture.

But when one backs off from this positively thrilling speculation, the historical bits and pieces surrounding his work are interesting in themselves.

And I imagine were he alive today, he wouldn't be fond of E-cards.
 

Tweet

Sometimes...

...you just have to stop and snarf the cheese cake.

After yesterday's cleaning exuberance I decided a break was needed.

But first I had to clean at the church.

After that emotionally high point of my day I took my camera off to Prairie Bridges Park and had me a walkabout.

No baby goslings were seen :-(

I did catch a few moderately interesting photos (for me, anyway) and they will be posted some time within the next year or so.

Also, I needed a few things at the store (but why didn't you tell me we were almost out of shampoo on shopping day?!)...

...so I did something I've been dreaming of for years--got myself a half pint of cherry cheese cake from the deli, parked on a shady side street and ate it.

All by myself.

And it was good.
 

Tweet

Crazy Ma Strikes Again

Once upon a time there was a Nice But Crazy Ma.

Now NBCM decided in the middle of May that it was high time to do some spring cleaning. The fact that New Zealand relatives were coming the following week had nothing to do with it.

So NBC Ma went to work on the kitchen. The first day she cleaned off the stove, CLEANED UNDER THE MICROWAVE, re-potted a cactus and wiped down two ledges AND cleaned the knicky knacks from those ledges. She cleared off one terribly cluttered counter and using nails, attached some lovely color-coordinated baskets to the side of her cupboard.

NBC MA did the nail/basket thing because a)..she thought it looked cool, b)..it got some of the clutter off the top of her fridge and c)..she knew that sooner or later her husband would make fun of it and that gave her something to live for.

But mostly she did it because she could.

That very same day NBC Ma also did a quick sweep of the floor and and even quicker washdown. (rumor has it that the latter chores were initiated after breaking a glass followed by experiencing sharp pains in her feet)

Nevertheless, one day was down and ALL WAS WELL.

On the second day NBC MA, feeling OH SO INSPIRED, cleaned off another (really messy) counter, washed off the top of the fridge, washed off the tops of the window frames, cleaned the white ceiling fan!! (even though it doesn't work) AND.....took down all the curtains and washed them.

It was while ironing the curtains that NBC Ma saw the little tag, "dry clean only."

NOT TO WORRY :-)

NBC Ma is no dummy. She knew they would be fine and they were.

The ironing was completed and the curtains were rehung, all the while interspersed with the fixing of a YUMMY supper, which was only half an hour late but nobody cared because they all KNOW she never has it done when she says she will.

It was about this time that NBC Ma noticed copious amounts of smoke emanating from the oven.

Now, small amounts of smoke are not too alarming. Certain foodstuffs do cause smoke...baked potato pieces, to name a couple dozen.

However, THIS smoke seemed a tad abundant even for butter dips baked at 450 degrees.

NBC Ma opened the oven door and discovered this...
...which appears to have once been a potholder.

It apparently hitched a ride on the bottom of a glass pan, which NBC Ma did not notice in the midst of being smug in her overwhelming sanitary success.

Keeping quite cool, she fetched the offending hot pad with a handy grilling fork and deposited it out in the grass, where the freshening breeze whipped it into a smoldering mass of perverse cotton.

After supper it looked like this...
...but NBC MA does not care.

She does not care that the kitchen with her newly cleaned curtains was then filled with smoke.

NBC Ma feels she gets points for putting in her time no matter what the outcome.

Also, she now thinks that 350 degrees would be a more reasonable temperature at which to bake hot pads.

But most importantly, NBC Ma needs a long hot soak in the tub.

*sniff*
 

Tweet

Oh Joy!

Carolyn described seeing an orange and black bird several weeks ago which sounded awfully like a Baltimore Oriole...

...and it was!


I just put out some new birdseed this morning, the kind that has more sunflower seeds in it.



Looks like it paid off :-)
 

Tweet

In honor of last week...

...which was National Wildflower Week.

Here are some little beauties I have transplanted from various ditches. I do not know WHAT the yellow thing is. But the greenery is piney-looking. I've seen this other places, I just cannot identify it from the sites I visit.
And the other green plant is Solomon's Seal. It will bloom with lovely hanging white flowers in another week or two, when you might be forced to view them again :-)

Bracted Spiderwort, Tradescantia bracteata, sometimes called Spider Lily.
I had a bit of difficulty deciding whether this was Common or Bracted, but its short height fits with Bracted.

"Wort" (pronounced "wurt") is Anglo-Saxon for "herb" or "root," and it was once thought that this plant could cure spider bites. Thus the name, Spiderwort.

Tradescantia is named after a John Tradescant, who was the gardener for Charles the First of England (17th century). The term bracteata comes from the Latin word bracteatus, which means "conspicuously bracted".

So what is a "bract?" A specialized leaf or leaf-like part which is located at the base of a flower.

If I were really dedicated, I'd go out and take another picture just so's y'all could view the specific bract...but I wouldn't want to be accused of getting carried away.

It is said that the Lakota Indians made a jelly-like blue paint from these flowers, which was used to decorate their moccasins.

Lest you think I've done tons of research, let me dismiss that notion by admitting I obtained most of this info from the Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses site.

Here is a spiderwort that is more violet in color.


Unfortunately, only two of my wild roses came back, which means I'll be scuffling about with a shovel in the ditch one of these days...
 

Tweet

Today's Holi's

(I just felt "today's holidays" was a bit redundant)

As has been previously mentioned, today is: National Chocolate Chip Day.

Now normally I would have alerted people ahead of time so that they could go out and refill their larders, but really, don't most of us have chocolate chips on hand in the cupboard every day of the week?

I know I do. Granted, I may occasionally run out of milk or eggs. Sometimes even breakfast cereal. But chocolate chips? Never.

Still, there are a few hours remaining in the day to refill the stock items one should always have on hand.

You've probably all heard of how the chocolate chip cookie was invented. You may even need to know about cookies in general. Or generals. Or read Wikipedia's take on the chocolate chip.

It's all here.

And stay tuned at the end of the post for a family recipe (not cookies) that utilizes chocolate chips.

But FIRST, there is yet another exciting holiday waiting for it's observance:

Nylon Stockings Day

Here are a couple of sites: informative, rumor dispelling and both G-rated.

But the most important info on today's evolutionary product--pantyhose--has been neglected. And that being....support/control top types are a must for women who have had children. And my advice to those of us with seven or more kids? Wear "tan" or darker. It hides the varicose and spider veins SO much more effectively.

But getting back to necessary foodstuffs, here is that recipe I was talking about. It was developed by daughter Sharon--don't forget, she has some of my genes--for the sake of using up those leftover bits of cereal in the bottom of the box.

You know, the shreds and crumbs that no one wants in their bowl, for fear of creating toxic amounts of mush. And if you have a hankering for frosted mini-wheats, you already know how much sugar there is at the bag's end.

Sharon Hoyt's (famous) Cereal Bars

1 stick butter, softened

1 to 1.5 cups sugar (depending on taste and the percentage of leftovers from FMW..I almost never use more than 1 cup)

2 med. eggs (I increased this from her original one)

a little of each of the following (you have to be fearless in working with inexact amounts)
---vanilla (I use about 1 tsp)
---baking powder (I use between 1/2 and 1 tsp)
---salt (a little more than 1/2...isn't this fun?)

1 to 2 tsp cinnamon (I use 1 but Sharon gets a little carried away...)

.5 to 1.5 cups flour

.5 to .75 quart container full of cereal leftovers, which you crush with a rolling pin on wax paper

"some" chocolate chips (just throw some in, or measure around 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

some milk to moisten if necessary

Cream first two ingredients. Add the rest. You may have to adjust the flour according to how much leftover cereal crumbs you are using. An experienced cook will just "know" and it doesn't have to be exact. If you are one of those people who has to have everything "exact" then I feel sorry for you.

Bake approx. 30 minutes at 350 degrees in a (sprayed) pan slightly less than 9x13.

When it comes out clean from a toothpick, remove and sprinkle more chocolate chips on top. When these melt they can be spread with a knife for frosting.

Bon appetite!
 

Tweet

The Great Motel Misadventure, or The Briny Eleven

We now go back in time to graduation weekend. Specifically, the nights of May 4th and 5th.

When you're taking an overnight trip with a group of 11, you do not just drop in on folks without warning. Well, you can, but you'd jolly well better be ready to pay for emergency medical services if your potential hosts should have...say, a sudden coronary or something.

However, despite being numerous, we are not totally without friends. With this heady knowledge in the forefront of our cranial quarters, we contacted two different families who might be able to put us up, or rather, "put up with us," for two nights.

Now every once in a while, due to unusual star alignments and irregular positioning of the solar plexus and all that, plans fall through. People have previous commitments that cannot be altered, no matter how badly they wish to help.

In other words, we had no freebie.

With four days to go we began checking motels. The first two of reasonable price were full. It appeared quite possible that other persons with a tad more foresight had already booked for this graduation weekend.

We gave brief thought to more expensive places like Ramada Inn but frankly, we do not FEEL like Ramada Inn people. I'm pretty sure our bank account doesn't FEEL like a Ramada Inn bank account, either. And then, staying in such a classy place would have necessitated a whole new wardrobe from Goodwill and I mean...who has time for that?

THEN, el hubbo, who had resided in the Warsaw, IN area for as many years as any, remembered a quaint little place not listed with the other online and (now we know) reputable establishments.

It's name? Oh, I couldn't go so far as to make that public, but it does rhyme with Agronomy Finn. And this place did indeed have vacancies. We booked, feeling smug in the knowledge that we were saving tons of moolah.

Fast forward to our arrival.

With minutes to spare before changing into spiffy things for the dessert bash with el presidento, we pulled into the motel parking lot whereupon we heard those immortal words from the son who had just completed his first year at college, "What a dump! "

(keep in mind this is the same young man who had survived a year of Saga food. You'd think he'd be a little more appreciative...as one newly released from prison...)

Trying to keep upbeat, Ma said perkily, "Oooo, blue painted sidewalks! Nice, huh guys?"

We hauled our luggage up the outdoor stairway and found our three rooms, handily located all in a cellblock....er, row. As we opened them, our nostrils were assaulted with the stale smoky odor of the management's droll version of "non-smoking" rooms.

Ooohhh boy.

Further inspection exposed the following:

-bathrooms the size of a closet
-no mirror in our (Loren, myself and the two littlest boys) room
-no rod for hang-up clothes in the boys' room and an outside lock that many times refused to open without being vigorously manhandled
-very limited TV channels in the girls' room and numerous structural flaws (as there were in all rooms), all documented by Ardith's new camera

But the beds seemed moderately clean and it was after all, just a place to crash at night.

And speaking of night...it held all the charms of a migraine.

As one lay in bed, bathed in an orange glow from street lights shining through inadequate curtains, one could sense the spirits of past smokers spiraling around the room in wisps of forgotten drags.

Their presence was felt, though shrouded by the mists of time. Shadowy, lingering and full of murk.

It was enough to make one want to stuff one's nose in one's armpit, just to get a breath of fresh air.

But no misadventure lasts forever and once we arrived home and washed every single piece of clothing and pillowcase we again sank into the bliss of what is known as the Hoyt Homestead.

It's dusty and cluttered but it smells like us.

When telling a friend where we lodged he decried, "You didn't stay there, did you? That's where they send the work release guys!"

Well, yes. Yes we did.

And it's so nice to be back on the outside.
 

Tweet

F.Y.I.

If you have sent me an email in the past week, you might want to re-send. Due to circumstances beyond my control our Intergate site was not receiving and all stores of emails have been lost.

As in, forever. But I do have all the addresses that I'd remembered to put in the address book.

If you HAVEN'T sent me an email in the past week...well, all I can say is, I HOPE you can sleep tonight.
 

Tweet

Dance Like a Chicken Day

Yes, you heard me. Some idiot declared May 14th to be Dance Like a Chicken Day.

Aside from that, there are REAL anniversaries worth noting.

Today is the 400th anniversary of the Founding of Jamestown. Seems a little more gravitasical than flapping around like an edible lame bird.

And for your added edification, the role of Pocahontas in the founding of Jamestown can be disputed.

Remember, it's not a matter of revising history so much as comparing facts and manuscripts and sifting out what REALLY happened. (or not) Heroic stories that fan the flames of patriotism didn't start with Jessica Lynch.

Also today, the anniversary of The Lewis and Clark Expedition. This is apparently the date when Clark set off from Hartford Illinois, meeting up with ol' Lewis in Missouri.

AND, the anniversary of Stars and Stripes Forever, by John Phillip Sousa. Not sure how this ties in, since the song was composed in his head over the Christmas holidays, but anyway...

(hopefully, those last two items make up for anyone unwitting offenses in the paragraph previous)

OK, today is also National Receptionists Day. Hey, I used to be a receptionist when I worked one summer as the church secretary of the church I grew up in. That's where I perfected my professional smooth-as-silk phone voice, which is not necessarily the same one I use on the kids...Let me tell you, it's not EASY to sound nice when you don't know who you are talking to! And don't even get me STARTED on typing up the bulletin on--get this--AN ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER--and then running off the bulletins on a mimeograph machine. Yeah. With ink that gets on your fingers and everything... (people have it SO easy these days)

I'm not bitter. Really.

But there's more: Underground America Day. Contrary to what you might think, this is not about an alternative political system, but actually means what it says....people who live underground.

This is also a euphemism for "homeschooling-moms-trapped-indoors-over-winter" but like I said, I'm not bitter.

One more and it sounds like a doozey. National Meeting Planners Appreciation Day. And that one sounds like something you'd read about in the Dilbert cartoons.

Let the celebrations begin.
 

Tweet

Still Alife

(guess what kind of tree this is without the sepia saturation?)
 

Tweet

Happy Ma Day :-)

Hey, my luscious red fern-leaf peonies are blooming for Mother's Day! It's not the greatest picture, but I had to move fast since the church down the road had let out and cars were starting to drive by.

Ma didn't wish to look like a slacker.

I stayed home with four today who are coughing and sniffling. Probably just as well...I think I'm a little dehydrated from working so hard outside this last week. I kept dozing off while the kids watched "Bob the Builder" and "Thomas the Tank Engine." And given the steamy and intellectual nature of those programs, you're probably wondering how I could have been sleepy.

Which brings up the question:

Why don't homemakers ever get dehydrated from doing laundry, schooling or cleaning house? (that last one was a hypothetical)

I plan to take it easy today. Make the kids fetch and carry...."Bring me another bowl of ice cream, could you Sweetie? Mommy needs her fluids."

Let's see, blood pressure 85/49 and pulse 60. Yes, I'm either dehydrated or in incredible physical condition. Come to think of it, that's probably it.

I am SUPER Ma!

But just in case, I'd better have that ice cream...
 

Tweet

Done for the Week

With a little help, the lawn was mowed twice this week. Took parts of five days.

By myself, five beds of various size were readied by shovel and rake. Took six or seven hours of back-breaking labor.

With help, everything with planted.

My back and various joints ache, including three silly toes which feel like the bones are scraping together when I walk. I'm sure that's just my imagination.

*takes imaginary acetaminophen*

But Ma has proved she's still got it!

*wheeze*

Kendra sawed off a wormy branch from the good plum tree and then I discovered just how little gasoline will make a really big "poof" as I sent them to their fiery demise.

Loren was messing with the extra mower and also the garage doors and openers. He has supervised and gotten Jason started on the first summer project, reinforcing the joists of the second floor addition.

Several of the kids have caught spring colds, which means I'll be staying home from church tomorrow. We think Jason picked up something from the plane ride and passed it on. More on that after we finish investigating everyone on the passenger list.

Could this brief report be any more banal?

Too tired to think. Next week should drift toward normal.
 

Tweet

For the politicos

There's an interesting little story I found on the Huffington Post that hasn't been picked up by the mainstream press yet.

It concerns an Iowa woman that was supposedly snubbed by Rudy Giuliani.

And then John McCain called her to apologize....

I say we put Rudy through the corn maze in Dyersville.
 

Tweet

Done fer the Day

Everything was accomplished as listed previously.

Thanks to Kendra for mowing an hour during the heat of the day. (those roses look lovely in your cheeks, Dear :-)

Thanks too, to Carolyn and Ethan for picking dandelions out of the front yard.

After supper, Carolyn, Nolan and Trevor helped plant beans, beets, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomato seedlings.

Ma planted ornamental corn, ornamental gourds, ornamental pumpkins (are we sensing a theme, here?) and muskmelon. I might have planted other stuff but it's so hard to tell in the dark...I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

Also, it is indeed possible to finish mowing from 9-9:30 p.m. if the night is clear and the section you're completing is on the western part of the lawn.

And it didn't hurt to have Venus--or whatever bright planet that was--in the sky.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure I burned off this brownie I'm eating a coupla days ago.

Now, methinks someone needs a nice hot bath...
 

Tweet

It's Plantin' Time !

Farmer Fry arrived this morning with the planter. It's a gorgeous day, sunny and much less humid. The whole world smells delicious with the freshly turned earth mixed with the scent of leftover apple blossoms.
Also seen...a nice crop of dandelions in the back yard :-)

Carolyn has diligently picked all the yellow weedy flowers in the front yard, earning herself some extra game time and ensuring that we do not lose lawn esteem points with the neighbors.

Oh, here's another bright spot to my morning...remember that four plus hours of back breaking work yesterday? Well the scale showed a loss of 1.5 pounds so I guess we know what Ma has to keep doing.

Today I hope (post posting--after all, first things first) to finish up the school week with Nolan, clean four bathrooms at the church, mow the far lawn and dig up a short bed that is filled with crabgrass. And also plant as much as possible.

I might try to work in fixing supper for the family. We'll see. And maybe I'd better fold that neglected laundry. It's getting rather annoying having to run downstairs to get a clean pair of socks. (maybe we should have a contest to see how many present participles one can put in a sentence...)

But before I race to the day, here's a little warning for you ipod freaks....
 

Tweet

Today's Doin's

Wow. Am I tired.

After school with Nolan and a brief hour's work at the church, I shocked my family by getting lunch be-fore one o'clock.

That in itself was an occasion so unusual as to cause swooning in massive amounts.

"Why are we eating so early?" queried Loren.

"Yes," chimed in Jason, "like, before two."

"Because I'm gonna start digging in the garden and I wanna have lots of time to work...it's all about ME!"

*unintelligible reply from Loren*

And since it was "all about me," I figured I didn't need to know WHAT he said :-)

Hours later, I had accomplished much more than I'd expected...
...one long bed, Nolan's half of a shared bed with Ethan, and Trevor's bed, which he is going to share with me...he just doesn't know it yet. You can see the beds from front to back, in angled order.

Oh I took a break after the first bed was completed. That took an hour and forty minutes to dig, edge, rake and grade. And all that called for tall glass of water followed by a Diet Cherry Coke chaser.

It was so hot that I decided the little kids needed a dousing under the sprinkler so we dredged up that engineering masterpiece from last year and put it to work...
...Trevor. I don't know what's so exciting about getting a little shovel wet, but it kept him occupied.

Nolan, displaying his power and might.


Later in the afternoon I had another wonderfully restful 25 minute interlude to rustle up a meatloaf for supper. I find it's better to mix that stuff by hand. The blending of ingredients is more thorough that way, PLUS as an added bonus, it's really efficient for cleaning all those dirty crevices in your fingers and nails.

On top of all that excitement, Farmer Fry came to plow the field, and that means planting time cannot be far away.

For him or us.
 

Tweet