Misery & Memories

 I gave family camping the title of "Misery & Memories" this year. Ask anyone who has been camping and they will agree, it's a lot of work. It's dirty. It's too hot, too cold or too windy at any given moment. But out of all the grief, we create memories that make us laugh out loud. Sometimes, it just takes a while for parts to seem funny.

 Fishing is an important part of family camping for these six. As Uncle Kevin says, "First. Most. Biggest." It is the fisherman's mantra. Abs snagged the first, with some help, of course. Kevin claimed the other two titles. They ALL clamied the title of "Who had fun!"

Even Callie enjoyed camping. She has never been dirtier except the day we rescued her from the shelter.

See...misery and memories!!

Corn Salsa

The garden FINALLY has tomatoes that have turned red. I have been waiting to try this recipe with them all summer. You might like it, so here it is.

CORN SALSA

6 large tomatoes, diced
3 cans corn, drained
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
3 large avocados, diced
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 large bottle fat free Zesty Italian dressing

Throw all ingredients together and toss. This makes a BIG batch. You can always cut it in half for a smaller crowd.

Happy Weekend, All!

Abs Again

Two blog posts in a row about dear Abbey, but I cannot resist committing to words the events of yesterday. In one breath, she informed me that I am the best grammie ever and she loves me to the moon and back. An hour later, she called me a "dumb ass" (more than once)!!! Hence, the pink nail polish on one hand (sweet angel) and the black polish on the other (little devil). This darling beauty is a complex child, smarter than a whip, holds a huge vocabulary and speaks her mind.
Today, my goal is not to be a dumb ass. Wish me luck!
 

Abbey's Way

 Abbey decided she wanted to try a swim meet at Blue Buoy today. She's talked about it for days. Her event was a free style once across the pool. Here she is doing her Michael Phelps warm up imitation.

 She practiced and was so excited...

until it was time for the beginning of her event. She didn't want to do it. No amount of prodding by her mommy or her swim coach would get her on that starting block. The race went on without her and as soon as it started she began wailing she wanted to swim the race!! Thank goodness Blue Buoy is a relaxed atmosphere where they allow a certain amount of, shall we say, leeway to give the kids confidence and as much practice as they can. They actually let Abbey swim right after Maddy's age group and SHE DID IT!! Unconventional as it may have been, she swam it and finished. The clapping and cheering afterwards really upset her. She does not like to have the spotlight on her.

So this is how she handled it!!! Our Abbey...so her own person...doing it HER way! And we wouldn't expect anything else. Gotta love her!!

My Life

My social calendar would be pretty empty if it were not for soccer games, swim meets, hockey games and sleep overs. Don't be a hater! You know you are jealous!!!

Photo 365

Well, it's official. I have taken a picture a day for the entire first six months of the year. My daughter suggested I join this group. It has been a fun and interesting way to capture events each day. Somebody nameless, (yes, you Vince!) was teasing me last weekend when we were discussing Facebook. He said, "All I know is Susan posts a picture every day." I explained the idea behind Photo 365, taking a picture, from a prompt you are given each day, and making it your own.
Why, you may ask? For many reasons, I have decided. Life moves so fast these days that sometimes we lose sight of noticing anything because it is all rushing at us with lightening speed. Taking a photo, often of a very simplistic thing (yellow, big, a friend) makes me stop and actually pay attention. When I take my picture for the day, I am fully present in NOW, not the past or the future. Most of us spend less time on the here and now, and more time thinking about the past or worrying about the future. The photo I capture is right here, right now, if only for a moment.
The photo a day also helps to satisfy the creative part of me. I always seem to have a craft project going and, I realized, I am happiest when I am immersed in one of these projects. These photos are like "mini projects" and I am, usually very satisfied with the results. Looking back over an entire month always brings a smile to my face.
Being part of our Photo Challenge group, you get to see other people's perspective of the same prompt for the daily photo. We are given the same idea, but the interpretations are as many as the people who play along. None wrong, all right and, yet, all diverse. Not a bad lesson for dealing with people in your life.
I have printed each month (as you can see) and am excited to make something (another project?!?!) at year's end with all twelve months.
Stay tuned!

Garden Glory

"Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes."  ~Author Unknown

I admit to being a city girl, but many years ago, my father-in-law got me started on planting a garden. My coupon loving, thrifty side gets so excited to see what a $1.50 packet of seeds can produce. Admittedly, my husband does the largest share of the work in the garden, from preparing the soil in spring, pulling the weeds, planting the seeds, and faithfully watering it daily. I, on the other hand, get to swoop down as it begins to give its largess and, like the queen surveying her kingdom,  pick the beautiful results and bask in the praise when I share with friends and neighbors. Little work ~ large glory...I like it!!

While out there on this fine, summer day, I made a wonderful discovery. We have pumpkins, and I mean A LOT of pumpkins! Look how big this one is and it's only the end of June!! We have tried for many years to produce pumpkins because we knew the grandkids would think they were cool. Last year was our first success. We got about three tiny ones and one medium sized one. Never have we had them so early in the season. I know they take a long time to mature and the vines sure take up a lot of space, but, hopefully, it will be worth it in September when I want to have them throughout the house for decorations. By today's count, there is at least ten out there already that are the size of a baseball and dozens of yellow flowers that mean the potential for more. They are choking out my cucumbers! But, then, how much cucumber salad can you eat, anyways?