White? Rue Anenome

Purple? Spiderwort

The feeling you get rescuing free flowers from the ditch?

Priceless.
 

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My Computer Talks to me

"Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts. Unfortunately the crash reporter is unable to submit a crash report (because he was playing X-pilot, drinking Mountain Dew and basically not paying attention to anything...)."

Other than that last part in parenthesis, I really did receive that message. It was new and I'm always in the market for new messages from people, even if they are from irresponsible crash reporters who are livin' it up with violent games and dangerous potassium-laden beverages.

But since all has been restored, I have no present plans to sue.
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Hate to go too many days without putting up a picture, so here's a cute snake we found in the yard on Thursday.
Kids and cousins were playing freeze tag and Kendra almost stepped on it. More's the pity she did not, as it would have been an excellent opportunity to have her perform first aid on herself after it sunk it's fangs into her gastronemius muscle.

I've always wanted to see that procedure where they take a flaming hot knife and make an "x" and then suck out the poison....except it didn't bite her and it wasn't venomous, so she couldn't do that really cool demo.

I couldn't have performed it either, as I'm too fat and stiff to even remotely reach my leg. I guess I'll just have to live with the danger and turn my attention to writing a dramatic swoon scenario.

I caught it and the kids got to pet its tummy. You can't do THAT every day.
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In other news, we got TONS done today! Melinda and I went to our church and implemented "Phase Two" of our Master Gardener landscaping plan. It involved 8 bucks for edging and free day lilies. I had some red ones but not as many as I remembered, so I went to the ditch (down the road--not MY ditch) and dug up some of the common ditch lilies, but I'd rather people didn't know that because I don't want to come across as cheap.

I took the three youngest boys along to "keep them (read: Nolan) out of trouble." I figured they could have lots of fun playing on the swings and merry-go-round. They gook their mitts and "bats" (read: tennis rackets). After about 15 minutes it started to look a little BORING to them, but then various peoples began arriving to return things or clean or get something ready, etc. and Mr. Socializer (read: Ethan) had a GLORIOUS time, which he only retold 3 or 4 times after we returned home.

There was a little excitement with the Green Dragon Lady Lincoln, as she refused to start, and the starter fluid had been taken out to start the mower (read: we live with mechanical failure). THANKFULLY, Caleb and Marlys and Ty were there to help, although, I can't really say that Ty did all that much...and even though I did not get to show off my spraying skills to Caleb, he did run to Casey's and get some starter fluid for Ma! Guess I'll have to put that guy in the will :-) Even so, it took several tries to get the Green Dragon Lady of Failure Power to go, but she did.

Now, all this might sound like enough for one day, but NO! We did more. I planted seven tomato plants in the beds I dug up before breakfast, and also cleared numerous grasses out of one of the paths and just generally made it look quite spiff.

Melinda also had energy to spare and so she planted her beans AND 3 apple trees, one of hers--a Honey Crisp!--and two that Trevor-the-wee-lad had grown from the seeds of an apple off our trees.

We've been workin' da land, peoples!

So happy to have gotten in a few more Master Gardener service hours. Melinda and I are about 1/4 done.

"Phase three" for the church may include a fall planting of bulbs.

And THEN...."phase four" is something I'm REALLY excited about....I hesitate to say anything yet...but, well...it'll be a new steeple for the church that doubles as a missile silo!

(actual missile will cost you more, Pastor John)

So we have big plans and my...had I known how much FUN this would be I might have done the whole Master Gardener thing, sooner.

You can't beat the good feeling one gets digging in the dirt and planning helpful projects to promote world peace.
 

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Death, a Conference Call and Dirty Fingernails

The day started with stunning news of a young man's death from a car accident. Perishing with him was his wife, along with their 1-year-old son. Haven't seen him recently, but he's attended functions at our church from time to time.

Kinda of hard to get that out of the mind.

But the out-of-doors needed Ma's attention, so I weeded grass out of the last two rows of raspberries, then went to the neighboring property and scratched up enough mulch to cover said rows. Now all of my brambles are covered over for the year.

Then I dug out quack grass from both sides of Ethan's potato bed, which he has yet to notice and thank me for. But he will. Oh yes, he will.

Good honest work in the dirt is the best therapy for....just about anything.

THEN, in the early evening, your very own humble Ma participated in her first conference call. Most cool, really. With all the siblings. One brother out in Virginia, one Ma from Iowa, and then the rest on a speaker phone in Indiana.

Very constructive and helpful discussion concerning Mom's care.

By the time 2 1/2 hours had gone by, I took a hasty break to go beg, "Will someone please start scrambled eggs for supper???"

It all worked out. The call and supper. We'd been eating way too well with the relatives, anyways. Can't have the family getting used to meat every night...

One hot bath and 4 chapters of James and the Giant Peach later, Ma still has dirt under her fingernails and is feeling the day went well, considering it started out with news of a young man and his family's death.

Life is hard to comprehend sometimes, but keeping busy helps.
 

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Stuff with the Rellies

The cold rainy weather and lack of Internet have presented some frustrations, but good times still abound when relatives are about.

Stan brought his chainsaw since we had a few stump and tree cutting projects. The one tree might have waited a few more years, but it was going to come down sooner or later.

Called "Greenwood" by the kids, it is actually a Sunburst Locust that lost a major section during an ice storm two years ago. The tree grows so fast that it is a hazard with it's weak limbs. So despite being a favorite climbing tree for the kids, it did come down.

That, and our visit to the Matchstick Museum can be found in the following Picasa album:

Hoytivities

As you can see from the photos, Nora is hard at work on some sewing projects for me. She whipped off a table runner in no time flat, then happily agreed to do curtains, and even went the extra step of lining them :-) (some people like this kind of work but it makes me nervous and irritable!)

Stan's been getting in some good birdwatching and picture taking time, though I could wish for better weather for those activities.

Tomorrow their family heads up to Minnesota to visit Uncle Bob, and I suppose the Iowa Hoyts have to get back to normal life...
 

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Back on the Internet!

 
But for how long?

Must get something up before it goes down, again...
 

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The Rellies are Here!

Stan, Nora and kids arrived bearing gifts of Blue Bunny ice cream and Paul Potts Cd's :-D

WOOT!

I guess we'll let them stay for a coupla days, heh, heh.

Our Internet was down for a bit, but all is quite groovy again, though I do hear Loren muttering to himself about....I don't know, whatever it is people with a gazillion computer parts mutter.

Ma was so glad to get everything pretty much done before the Georgians drove up. Even had the extra dishes washed, and believe me, that doesn't happen all that often (my family is always happy for company as it insures a few decent meals and removal of the outermost dirt layers).

I thought the dessert was blown for a bit, as I dipped into the chocolate pudding cake only to find it was not done. That was a first, but I learned not to try and bake that concoction with another dish in the oven.

Chocolate Pudding Cake is a jealous dessert and will not willingly share the oven with anything, particularly some low class baked bean and sausage casserole.

But I stuck it back in for 20 extra minutes and the day and Ma's reputation was saved.

Naturally the kids are showing all their computer games to their cousins. It should only take a year or two for Uncle Stan and Aunt Nora to undo the damage incurred by this visit...

Later, Ethan convinced most of the gang to join in a game of "paper telephone;" another of his lifelong dreams, fulfilled.

Well, it's been a big day and this little girl is heading for ye olde hote bathe.
 

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Getting Ready for Tomorrow

We have relatives from Georgia coming, tomorrow evening. Loren's brother Stan, wife Nora and the three youngest, Lindsey, Alice and Evan.

Should be good times :-)

Ma worked valiantly to get the "hard" part of the lawn mowed, today. 'Twas made even harder by el mowero stupido, which has decided to use copious amounts of oil and gas, all the while threatening to die if going more than turtle speed. I ended up pulling that baby backwards, half the time, since it worked better that way. Naturally, when you're as experienced as moi, the lines still come out pretty straight!

But basically, it was all I could do to keep from smashing that thing with the sledge hammer. Since sledge hammers don't cut grass all that well, I did constrain myself. Barely.

Considering what happened to relatives in Tyler, Texas, I REALLY SHOULDN'T COMPLAIN.

Here's another picture of their house, this time from the front.

Who knew a pick up could do that much damage?

LOTS of stuff to go through and much to be repaired. Currently, Mark and Lauri Anne (and two children still at home) are staying in the empty house of a church member.

I'm sure they would appreciate prayer.
 

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What's Been

Another of the monthly church dinners, today.

Sharon was home for the holiday weekend and finally got to visit with Grandma Violet.

This was extra nice, since the past two times Sharon has been home, either she or Mrs. Violet were not at church.

Not that we're snoopy or anything, but some people just have to know what is in every dish!


And some people just have to have their picture taken.

________________

The following is on a different note, and needs some set up:

We have several relatives living in Texas. One such family is a younger brother of Loren's, Mark Hoyt and wife, Lauri Anne and kids.

That Hoyt household is something of a gathering spot, since Loren's sister and her family also live in Tyler.

And this particular weekend was distinctive in that kids were home from college, friends were visiting, and it looked to be another busy time of confabbing in the Texas Hoytdom.

Last night in particular though, was different. Due to an activity at their church, Lauri Anne and Mark were the only ones at home, making and delivering cookies to the church. At a certain time of the evening, Mark had just left to make a cookie delivery run, and Lauri Anne kept on baking.

She decided to take a quick break to check her email, which necessitated going to an adjoining room. Within moments of leaving the kitchen, she heard a loud noise and realized A TRUCK HAD CRASHED INTO THE HOUSE, STOPPING IN THE KITCHEN WHERE SHE'D JUST BEEN BAKING COOKIES.



Good thing she checked her email, no?

Praise God for keeping everyone safe.

A man lost control of his truck and rammed through a large section of the home, which housed not only the kitchen where Lauri Anne had been working, but a significant socializing room where the young people, had they not been at the church activity, would certainly have been killed and/or badly injured. In fact, where the truck is, and directly in back of it....would have been filled with people.

Whoa.
 

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Memorial Weekend Goodness

We had the annual Memorial Day cookout around noonish today, owing to Sharon needing to drive back to Indiana on Monday.

I'm tellin' ya, the kids did LOTS of work in both cleaning and food preparation. Without them I'd still be cutting up potatoes and celery for potato salad. In actuality, I did none of that that :-) Kendra made the cabbage salad, Melinda made the fresh rhubarb crisp, Sharon made a chocolate ganache pie, and there was a 4-5 person collaboration on the potato salad.

I even go my shower in! It all worked out perfectly. I was just wiping the last part of the stove when Justin, Ardith and Jason drove up. Lucky for them I was done, saving them from standing out in the rain for an hour, heh, heh.

Justin did all the grilling for me, a wonderful BREAK. This prevented my usual running back and forth from kitchen to grill which, in the past, has insured burned food at both places.

Many hamburgers, hot dogs and brats met their demise.

Then the part repaired to the living room for a rousing game of Dutch Blitz, which Justin played for the first time.
Kendra, right, was her usual competitive self. Going counter clockwise we see, Justin, Ardith and Ethan. Tucked in at diagonal points were the eager watchers, Nolan, Carolyn and Trevor. As one person acquired high points, others were rotated into the game.

Nolan and Trevor asked to take a picture with the camera. Here is Trevor's untouched photo of Ethan, who was disputing some rule or call.
It's hard for a Hoyt to lose.

But the day turned out to be a winner, for though it rained buckets earlier in the morning, the sun came out for a glorious rest of the day.
 

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Internet Slacker

I is.

But we've been very busy!

And here's a sampling of what's been going on...

The Blue Room is finished!

I didn't help with this, the scrapers were Ethan, Kendra and probably Loren (can't remember) and the painters were Loren and Kendra.

We moved out all the kids' computers, earlier, and now the piano is in one corner...

...and my computer in another.
Loren's desk and computer remain were they have been.

So that's a glimpse. The rest of the day involves food preparation and peoples arriving for our Memorial Day meal.

Everyone will be here, including el Justino :-)

Many grilled meats and salads will be consumed. Now I must return to cleaning the counters in my continuing attempts at pretension of neatness.
 

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Puttin' in the hours

I can barely move. Nothing like a day working outside, digging, lifting rocks, and hauling sod.

Melinda and I were able to get in some of our Master Gardener service hours today, pruning, making a bed and planting bushes and posies.

Now we just have to pray for rain and that they don't die, heh, heh. That would look SO bad.

Loren spent the day putting the last coat of paint on The Blue Room, which might give a hint as to the color.

Kendra is working at the nursing home until 10:00, still on the orientation routine but all excited just the same, since she gets to wear scrubs!

Sharon is driving out from Indiana...not sure whether she'll stay at Ardith's or get here for the night...

Tomorrow we start moving things into The Blue Room, which makes me think there must be SOME-thing I have to do, somewhere else. I don't like moving days. This will entail cleaning off my desk.

We should also do some cleaning tomorrow, because people will be here on Saturday for our Memorial Day get-together. One hates to serve food in a dirty house.

NEXT WEEK we have relatives coming to visit, from Tuesday night until Friday morning. I think that means more cleaning. Possibly even washing sheets.

But right now I'm going to take a hot bath and psych myself up to do dishes and fold 4 loads of laundry.
 

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Life in Ioway

Despite being behind in 2 or 3 promised posts, I'm going to skip along to something different.

Earlier this morning, Trevor came over to my computer and exclaimed, "Mommy...thehoh's an ohweeoh dwinking fwom the feedoh!"

"Uhhhh...what?"

"THEHOH'S AN OHWEEOH DWINKING FWOM THE FEEDOH!"

"Oh, you mean an oriole is drinking from the hummingbird feeder?"

"YES!"


Well bless his little heart, there was a female oriole sipping sugar water.

Not a LOT of improvement on his "R's," but there has been some. I'll admit to not tackling it specifically, of late, waiting to see if it would rectify itself.

However, he has come to the thrilling conclusion of that Cat in the Hat sequel, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. So the kid can read, a little. Funny, how he will sometimes look at the word "yelp," and say "play." But I know this is not uncommon when children are learning to read.
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The Amazing Chocolate Challenge, continues. Day Six shows us that Ma has lost another 1/2 pound! That makes 6.5 pounds in five days. Ma is pretty stinkin' happy!...though still longing for her beloved Dove's Dark.
____________________

Word on the street has it that painting of "The Studio" will commence, today. I cannot tell you how much stuff is going on. When collisions of activity occur in this manner, my mind starts swimming and I end up doing relatively little. Though I did dig and plant another corn bed, yesterday. Must be why my back hurts, today.
____________________

Iowa is under a wind advisory, which makes it very difficult to do much outside, and I have so much I wanted to get done before the relatives arrive, next week.

Guess I'll be forced to clean out the pantry, which is really....quite....sad.
 

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Oops....Sorry

I MEANT to post today (I mean yesterday). Things got busy.

Got through school with the youngsters and dug and planted another corn bed.

Also went shopping, chauffeured by Derek, who applied for a summer job at three more places.

Planning on another Adventures With Ma, post, complete with a surprise guest!

Please check back frequently, as it does make the counter look real pretty.
 

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My Daughter, the CEO

The announcements just keep comin' folks! Now we move to Sharon, who has just become a company, capable of contracting itself out for los jobbos :-)
Yes, I know this picture isn't the clearest, but I do SO like it. Doesn't she look like a happy, pleasant person?

Well, she is.

Her job situation had been as a temp, and the company she works for can only keep temps for 2 years, the deadline of which is fast approaching.

And the company wanted to keep her.

But they were restricted in new hires for permanent positions, so....it was suggested that she form a company and sign a contract with los bossos, which in fact, she diddo!

The company name is "Plaira," which is French for, "it will please." Mui Bueno, oui, oui! And now she can remain where she loves the work and the people.

Congratulations, ma Chère!

_____________________

In other news, having made the great computer, kitchen/dining room transition, the next step is to paint the (former) computer room, which will now be called, The Studio.

My computer as well as the piano shall be moved in, but first, a little prep work...

Scraping, by the master. (nice skullcap, my Dear :-)


"What do you mean, I forgot to start the dishwasher 3 hours ago....?"
"It's OK. I'll forgive you since you're working hard."

Ethan had this unique technique that made a hor-REN-dous screeching noise...something akin to Godzilla's fingernails scraping a massive chalkboard. I had to go upstairs before it drove me berserk. My sanity is a day to day business, as it is. There's no need to mentally impale my hearing.

I still have to post a picture of the kids' new computer cubby, which, if I'm not mistaken, entails taking the photo, in the first place.
 

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Portrait in Indigo

"Here I am, the most beautiful Indigo Bunting in the world, safely arrived at the Hoyt feeder."


"First I'd better do my neck exercises...."


"Hey, what's that? Nobody better be tryin' to muscle in on my territory..."


...*chomp, chomp*..."Hmmm, who's that good-looking middle-aged woman with the camera?"
"She looks like she could use some chocolate."
 

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Life With No Chocolate

An oxymoronic phrase, really. But perhaps for a short while....

I just hope I don't black out or something.

However, there is good news to report. Day 4 of the 8-day Chocolate Challenge: LOST ANOTHER POUND! That makes 5.5 pounds in 3 days :-D

Of course, it is slowing down, each day, but the main goal is to get through all of Friday without eating chocolate or snacking between my 4, mostly high-protein meals, each day.

Almost had a slippage, on Sunday. I was cutting up the freshly baked, chocolate chip cookie bars for the family (*sniff*), when I absentmindedly picked up a crumb and popped it into my mouth. JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME, I spit it out. I'm pretty sure that counts as not eating chocolate.

I just have to make it though the rest of the week...
 

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Mowing in Iowa...

...in the balmy month of May.

So the temperature has gone up ALL THE WAY TO 46 degrees! Whoo-ee.

That's improved from 39, when I began mowing. However, the wind has increased from 26 to 31 mph.

Inside la casa, Loren is busy as a bee, quite energetic and ready to move this and that, here and there.

Do you ever find that when one spouse has all kinds of get-up-and-go, the other one feels more like sitting around, cruising facebook or blogging? But at least the kids are helping Loren. I mean, that's what we had them for, right? They're still young enough to get enthused about these kinds of things. I do find it rather exciting that people other than myself are running the sweeper.

But ya know, we all have our jobs and duties. I see mine as keeping the lawn safe from dandelion terrorism and making mulch for the raspberries.
 

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Crazy, Hazy, non-Lazy Days of May

It was 37 degrees in Ackley, when I checked online, this morning. And tonight there is a chance of frost. I guess the May 15 frost-free date means nothing! Ma will be covering a few plants, tonight.

Day 2 of the Chocolate Challenge: 3 pounds down, this morning! Course, I know every day won't be like that. Might explain why I was so sleepy yesterday afternoon. I almost had a piece of chocolate. I figured, "Hey, even if I have one, it'll be at least 10 less than usual..." But I didn't. Just have to tough it out until a week from today, when we have our Memorial Day Weekend Bash (can you grill chocolate?)

Today, Melinda and I are going out to pick up trash along some roadways. This can count for some of our volunteer Master Gardening hours, as long as it doesn't go over a certain amount. One of our main opportunities for service fizzled out, and I'm gonna hafta look into that...

The winds are 26mph, so Ma is definitely covering up her ears. Hopefully, the ditches won't be too wet from all the rains. What I need are a good pair of hip waders.

Then there is the other half of the lawn that need mowin'...brrr, I am cold just thinking about it!

I'll get up a picture of the "new computer room," later today. It's so quiet downstairs, now :-) And the funny thing is, no one's come down for breakfast or even remembered that Veggie Tales is on...heh, heh.
 

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Revising the Legend---(new feature!)

As the victim of many a disillusionment over past years, I thought it would be fun to have occasional forays into the actual truth of the matter.

For the first one, a real classic: The Frog

If you put a frog in boiling water he will jump right out. But if you put him in a pot of cold water and heat it up, ever so gradual-like, the frog will remain happily ensconced in said pot until it, oblivious, boils to death.

This happy picture is oft used to warn against the dangers of doing something too quickly, such as a business making a drastic product change (people are so shocked they abandon the product). Another use of this story is perceived complacency on a matter, for instance: allow a child one piece of candy and they'll start down the slippery slope which ends in Type II diabetes.

Anywho, Snopes.com says otherwise. Apparently, frogs jump out of the pot, no matter what.

Cool illustration.

Just doesn't hold water.
 

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Another Big Week

Lotsa moving and shakin' goin' on here, at the Big House.

The treadmill found it's way down to the basement, and with the second floor addition getting cleaned out of all it's paraphernalia--well, a little bit, anyway--the computers will now be making a transition to their final resting place in the attic, via the previous exercise room.

That sounds clear, no?

THEN, the piano and my computer will be moved over to the current computer room, but not until after it gets painted, hee, hee.

So, I have exactly one day to pick out a color, but that will be no problem, since I've been put in that position before. I think the ol' blindfold and dartboard method, followed by supreme confidence, "Yes, I meant to have bright orange!" is what's called for.

In other news, Kendra should be working a 2-10 shift as an aide in Hampton, starting sometime next week.

I guess this means we have to be quiet in the mornings. I'm thinkin' there will be no mowing, before noon. Hmmmmm.

Better than 10pm-6am, no doubt.

Speaking of self denial, Ma is going without chocolate for the next 8 days. Also implementing the tried and true four-meals-per-day, with no snacks between, format. It goes by the name Idiot Proof Diet, but I prefer to think of it as a "cleanse," owing to the fact that every time the word 'diet' is mentioned, certain people in this household snort with derision.

The whole cutting back thing in January didn't turn out so well, what with the sickness and all. But I think I can handle 8 days, and then take a break for Memorial Day weekend. Plus, we have company coming the week after, so I'll be lucky just to maintain during that time.

After that, back to losing. My goal is to get down before Ardith's wedding!
 

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Girls and Ma Go Marshy

I told Melinda and Carolyn we were goin' to hunt for the elusive pelicans at The Big Marsh. With one dry day between rains, Thursday was it!

We didn't find any pelicans, this time. So sad. But we did see lots of other, neat naturey stuff, captured in a Picasa album of 31 photos.

2009 May Big Marsh

It was a tad chilly and we walked and WALKED. Ma is out of shape and tired, but it was a goodish time. Couldn't get Carolyn to hold the snail or crayfish claw, however...she wanted to take some pictures but Ma wouldn't share. Maybe some day I'll grow up and not be so selfish.
 

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Whenever I Feel Sad...

...I go to my high school and college lists on Facebook and breeze through,

"He looks older than me....she does too....oh my, he DEFINITELY looks like a geezer!...Whoa! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HAIR! "

Really, this is so much fun! I talk to some of the kids more often this way than face to face. It's much easier to insult people online than person to person.

Approaching 50 friends, too. And then I'll settle down with 55 or so...a nice comfortable size for keeping the razzing to an acceptable level.

A whole new ministry...who wouldda thought?
 

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What I Live With

Kids having a "Make the other guy laugh" contest.

Ethan morphs to his tried and true cross-eyed fish face...


...while Nolan goes for the standard goofy guy look.


In other news, Ma went shopping yesterday. Derek informed me he was going along so he could get in as much driving experience as possible.

He also put in applications at McDonald's and Dairy Queen. I brought two books to read in case I had to wait, but between running a few errands and returning, I barely had time to read more than a few paragraphs.

Nice going, Derek.

Plus, he now knows the secret entry code to the Green Dragon Lady Lincoln, so the sooner we can ship him off to college, the safer I'll feel.

In the weather front, rain continues to fall and the younger kids eagerly await the arrival of their test scores. It's a make or break year for a certain someone, so whether additional storm clouds hover in the distance...we wait....we wonder...we bites our nails.

If the scholastic stuff doesn't work out, they could always get a job in the circus.
 

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So CLOSE!

It's bedtime, and Ma has 39 friends on Facebook. One more and we can make it an even 40!

Just imagine! Thirty-nine people with whom to explore the essence of life, share one's innermost secrets, and most importantly, tap out for moolah.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. To THINK of the expertise and wisdom to be doled out. And humility. There's simply not enough humility to go around, these days, and what can I say? I AM the perfect vehicle and if fate calls upon me, I must do what I must do, to see that others become not heaved up with hubris.

The best way to go about this, naturally, is to humble others, and to humble them as often as possible.

I think I've finally found my calling in life.

Now...back to that 40th friend...if I have trouble sleeping, say, if I'm wondering why a certain G. Pitts hasn't returned my invite, I may well creep down the stair--no small feat when you're 25 pounds overweight--find myself irresistibly drawn to that network of neighborliness, and see

if all my dreams

will be fulfilled.

No pressure, now...
 

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Against All Odds...

...Ma finally gets up the pics! No thanks to Blogger. Even Photobucket gave me a little trouble.

Ah well.

Lotsa stuffs goin' on. So here's the latest:

Kendra came back from college on Saturday night, and wants everyone to know that she is technically a junior, now. There was a problem with the "new" old car, however, in that it was drinking up buckets of oil. Because of that...

...Jason had to take our old Toyota down to Cedar Rapids on Sunday, in preparation for starting his co-op with Rockwell Collins on Monday.
Here he is, packing up the car, helped by Trevor. "I'm shoh thehoh's some woom in the fwont seat foh me..."

On the way down, something quite raucous occurred with the muffler, in that, it muffles not, anymore.

Gotta love buying used vehicles, folks! There are heavy doin's going on to get both cars fixed.

As if that were not enough, we were quietly doing school yesterday morning when a low rumble was heard. A certain boy who's initials are Ethan Michael Hoyt was heard to exclaim, "IT's MR. FREY! HE'S COMING TO PLOW THE FIELD! IN HIS 8-WHEELER! I WAS RIGHT! ABOUT EVERYTHING !!"

School came to a thudding halt.

And speaking of Ethan, he was terribly pleased with himself in predicting that Mr. Frey would come with the new 8-wheeler to plow.

(tell ya what, Ethan...you just try that, "I was right...about everything!" with your wife some day, and see what happens...)

We managed to get back and finish school. And then Mr. Frey came back and planted, woo-wee!
Most exciting. And the kids are not quite as close to the tractor as it appears.

Run....RUN LIKE THE WIND!


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In other news, Ma now has 30 friends on Facebook :-D

Of course, it helps when you have tons of relatives. And besides, people feel sorry for us old folks.
 

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It Never Stops

Another big, big weekend, up at the Hoytstead.

Unfortunately, Blogger will not post pictures at the moment, and photobucket is not cooperating EITHER.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Oh hey, though....I have 29 friends on Facebook :-)

I'm sure that means something.
 

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El Facebooko Updato

Well folks, Ma now has 8 friends.

Imagine! Just yesterday I was an overweight 50-year-old has-been homemaker, but today...TODAY, I 'm an overweight 50-year-old has been homemaker WITH 8 FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK!!!

It literally boggles the mind.

I'd like to thank all those who made it possible:

1) Loren's oldest brother Bruce, a distinguished Reformed minister, over in New Zealand, who, by the way, has not sent me an invite to be friends...and don't give me some lame excuse about it being night time over there...but anyway, I figured if someone of his maturity and stature could do it, than I really need to get on board with this stupid networking thing.

2) Kendra, el daughtero, who became my first friend, because she basically HAD to, since we're family. And because she likes to be first in everything.

3) Inga Helmke, who became my friend shortly afterward, and must have extensive Facebook-cruising skills and therefore saw it within minutes.

There are more, but I hate to go overboard when it comes to lauding others.

I foresee vastly expanded opportunities to noodle people online. I will never, NEVER, however, give up blogging for Facebook.

This could mean, though, that lunch will be put off to an even later time, in that I cannot be expected to mow the lawn, come inside and drink a Diet Coke while blogging AND cruising Facebook, and still get lunch at the original time.

I'm thinkin' maybe...2:30ish.
 

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Facing Facebook

Well, I done did it.

Signed up with Facebook.

Course, I have a couple of problems...

1) I can't seem to load up any friends, over the IM or the email.

2) I used the name "Ma Hoyt," and now I'm thinkin' my "real" name might have been better, and I can't seem to change it on the profile page.

3) I have a nice little picture to put up, but after I couldn't get the friend-thang to go, I decided not to hunt around for the picture import thangy.


So far, I'm rather underwhelmed. I'll try again tomorrow, but really, I thought it would be more of a snap...
 

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Happy Mother's Day :-)

Do see the pertinent Pickles cartoon.
 

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The Kendra Report

 
SHE's BACK!

Safe and sound from her first all-day road trip.

By herself.

Just a little problem with oil usage.

Four quarts or so.

But she's back :-D
 

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Another Day, Another Beautiful Bird

Ruby Throated Hummingbird, as y'all probably know :-)

Not the best of pictures, it was taken yesterday, during a rain shower. Of note, however, is the jeweled throat. Most of the hummingbirds last year were all white, denoting females or young males.

How nice that this ruby throated gentleman was the first of his clan to arrive, this year.
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In other news, I just came in from mowing very-tall-grass, and one of the kids-who-shall-remain-nameless, and had been watching older brother play a computer game most of the morning, asked me,

"When's lunch?"

"I don't know, but it will be SOMETIME AFTER I DRINK THIS COKE!"

I'm just ornery, that way.

In all fairness, a few of the kids don't feel well and have sorta been moping around the house, with the occasional plaintive, "I don't know what to do....I don't feel good and I'm so bored..."

To which I am sorely tempted to reply, "Couldn't you find something useful to do, like invent a reverse protoplasm blaster, or something?"

But usually I curb my sarcastic tongue and sweetly reply, "Look, I am not put on earth to entertain you. That's your job."

OK. That's not quite true. I usually don't say it sweetly, but I think you get the picture.

Oh well...I really SHOULD get lunch. But I'm crankin' up The Three Tenors, really loud.

It's how I entertain myself.
 

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May Oriole Madness

Another banner bird day for the Hoyt household!

I'd put out oranges a few days ago, and this morning, Mr. Oriole obliged us with his presence.

At first he was just around the back. I'd resigned myself to a tail shot, to prove he'd been here...

..but then he swung around to a better vantage point.
Ooo, that looks like a painful tail disolcation...

After that, he just sat on top of the stand and posed, for a bit :-)


I may swing the stand around, so the oranges are closer to the window from where I take pictures and the kids watch.

Speaking of which, all children were thrilled to see this gorgeous creature.
Even Jason had to admit, "Hmmmm, very pretty."

Gotta love those bright, contrasting colors.

In other news, Loren and I had a great time last night, with dinner out and a movie. Star Trek. Whoa, BABY! Action packed, all the way! Ma's heart never quite slowed down, the entire time.

You need the kind of seats where you move the middle armrest up, so the wife can clutch her husband's arm and hand. Men may want to have a temporary cast put on, beforehand, to prevent bone breakage, and ladies, by all means, clip your fingernails to a non-scarring length, before the movie.

All I can say is "WOOO-eee!" This movie definitely gets two thumbs up from el Mao.

A picture post to come, of moi and el hubbo's big night out. Including a photo of Ma's dinner plate!
 

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Return of Flash

No, this is not a pathetic dog-sequel story.

Thanks to Loren, I have a camera that takes flash pictures again :-D

It did take a little finagling to figure out how to use my old card in the "new" camera.

After I realized my picture of an Indigo Bunting had not "taken," we decided the card needed to be formatted, again.

I never did this before, as someone else did it for me, or it was possibly taken care of with the original camera, before we received it. It's hard to remember anything from over a week ago.

REGARDLESS, I am still living in semi-dufusland, concerning technological things. But after digging through my pile of stuffs on my desk, I scrounged up the operations manual,

which pointed me to the troubleshooting page,

which said I had to format my memory card,

which referred me to the operations manual,

which implied it could be done with the camera, itself.

Taking my dim wits to my techno-savvy son, I let Jason punch various buttons on the menu, which revealed nothing even remotely formatish.

Becoming quite frustrated, I googled many useless sites that concerned itself with my particular make of camera.

FINALLY, I got to eHow, which told me, quite simply, the directions for formatting a memory card on my computer.

'Tis done!

Here is my test shot of the boys...

(after this photo, I told Nolan to go brush his teeth, again).


This is one case where the manual was no help. So I don't have to feel guilty about not having it memorized.

In other words, I am exonerated :-D
 

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Flower Life in the Yard

The clouds broke for a bit, yesterday, so I went out a-hunting pretty flowers.

My grape hyacinth forest has matured.


Daffodils laugh, oblivious to all but imbibing rain, sunshine and wind.


Apple blossoms always look prettiest in the bud.


I had another restless night, which means I overslept and missed the morning bird-feeding frenzy. But the kids tell me a female grosbeak stopped by for a sunflower snack :-)

Looked like a large sparrow, they said.

Perhaps a nest nearby?

There's nothing like spring's new life, to take one's mind off old worries.
 

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More Bird Exuberance

The goldfinches just go bonkers during morning feeding time.
Ethan counted 8 males earlier this morning. I believe there are five in this picture, along with one female, on the lower left.

I was going to buy another finch feeder, just to see how many we could handle, but I forgot. Not sure where I'd have hung it, since the ol' stand is quite reduced from it's previous glory.

Here is another migratory visitor, the White-Crowned Sparrow, who stopped by on his way to Canada.
Their winter grounds do coincide with parts of Iowa, so it's possible he was around...but I don't recall seeing this fellow. I love the bold white markings on the head. Very similar to the white-throated sparrow (shown two posts below), but slightly larger, lacking the white troat patch and with no yellow blob above the eye.

Really, these guys flit all over the place, trying to bounce each other away from perches.


Favorite picture of the day. Common lady, with wind-ruffled feathers.
Sure, she's just a female house sparrow, but I still likes the look of her.

Hang in there little lady...I'm pullin' for ya.

OK. That makes up for the missing post of yesterday.
 

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Derek Goes Legal

It's ye olde 18the birthdaye. Apologies for bad pictures but there are mitigating circumstances:

1) Derek requested not to have his face in the photos...*rolls eyes*...

2) Camera with no working flash = blurdom. But that will be fixed one of these days.

Anyway, here is "someone" blowing out the candles on his cake...
And here's the recipe for the Almond Joy Cake that I used. I did make a few refinements, such as increasing the marshmallows...1/2 cup is in no way, enough. Also, I bought the wrong type of pudding mix, so I just left that out altogether.

Right off the birthday bat we had a slight misfortune, in that I could not find one of my presents designated for Derek's 18th birthday. Bad Ma! The day my books get organized, not to mention my teeny closet, life will be wondrous, indeed.

In the meantime, I owe Derek another present. At least, that's what I told him...

3 CD's, two of baroque music and one of a pipe organ.


The traditional 18th birthday presentation of one's personal set of LOTR.
Everyone literary aficionado needs a little Tolkien in their life.

So, he made me promise to crop him out of the birthday pictures, but he said nothing about the one taken earlier in church, that morning :-D
The "men's group," started by Kevin Currier, 2nd from right, sang a special in church on Sunday, which happened to be Derek's birthday.

Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

Ethan is on the far left, and Derek is on the far right, which does not necessarily correspond to their political leanings, ha, ha.
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In other news, Loren continues to feel the effects of this weird virus (do we get any other kind?), but seems to be on the mend.

It rained buckets during the night and some water made its way into the basement, via a bad window. No damage, and to my knowledge, no mice drowned.

Ma got a few more things planted, pretty violas, fresh from the farm supply store, and also plopped a few flower seeds into the ground. Whether the seeds were washed away in last night's downpour remains to be seen (or unseen).

Life continues on.
 

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Purdy Birdies

Another Ma-dream fulfilled. The grosbeak that the kids saw last year, without me, came back and stayed long enough to be snapped!

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak


Another joyful encounter, the White-Throated Sparrow stopped by...
..on his way up to Canada, for the summer.

And my old friend, the House Finch :-)


Such a gorgeous day! Seems as though excitement just piles up upon excitement, of late. Though Ardith's engagement goes into a slightly higher echelon than the grosbeak, hee, hee.

Ma has been out in the garden, a-diggin' in preparation for Trevor's red peppers and cabbage plants which we hope to pick up locally, later today.

I may even get something done for my herb garden...we'll see.

In the meantime, Nolan's setting new records for how slowly he can accomplish his math. Very frustrating for me when I wish to be working at something rewarding, outside, and have to keep coming in and checking up on the king-of-distractability.

It's gonna rain tomorrow and the out-of-doors calls to me.
 

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