Weather and Music . . .

Ok, so...here's the story...I was out in my amazingly peaceful, farmland neighborhood walking Alli Monday night and stumbled upon the cloud you see below as I turned onto the wide open farmland road.

 So, what's with the city street you ask?  Well, I didn't have my phone/camera with me and was telling myself..."Self, it's for the best, you can just take in pure nature and not be all tangled up in needing just the right or best shot of these MOST AMAZINGLY COLORED CLOUDS WITH LIGHTENING BOLTS ZIPPING SILENTLY IN AND OUT AND THROUGH THEM OVER A GORGEOUS FARM FIELD SURROUNDED BY BLUE SKIES AND A HUGE ORANGE MASS TO YOUR RIGHT!!"

 See that lightening bolt in the middle of that cloud?

Yeah, I saw six at one time a few times...with no buildings impeding the view, a border of green pines and amber waves of grain...!!!...

 Here's the orange mass I mentioned that was to my right.  So, the pics...turned out, one of my facebook friends was taking in the same sight as I only in the city limits and was as struck by them as I was...so, I grabbed his pics and they will have to do.  

(-:

Now, on to music . . . 

Even though neither of them officially take piano lessons, there is currently a little war going on around here about who's using the piano and when.

I'll tell you what about Livia though, she's totally teaching herself piano, I am literally a consultant, no kidding.  She keeps going through books and telling me when she's ready for another one, simply calling me in when she gets stumped.  Then, today, she and I had a moment that I said rivaled every single performance I've done, Carnegie Hall, all the NYC's, the grammy wins, everything...she taught herself a real deal arrangement of Jesus Loves Me with two hands, harmony and everything and it has a DUET PART FOR MOM...so we played it...TOGETHER!!!  Oh my goodness, gracious!! I've just got to clear off my phone already to make some space for video of that.  Have I said...oh my goodness!!!

Finally, this gal here has moved on from being a cymbal player in the drumline to the bass drum for her senior year. She also auditioned for and made it into the top of three bands at school, the Symphony Band.  Wait a sec...did you catch that??? . . . "her SENIOR year"  ACK!

OK, better sign off...

Boy, is this place beautiful . . .

But, boy, sure is different not having the whole gaggle galloping down the hill for first dibs in the lake. Older kids still had finals to plow through this week and Harrison being 13 doesn't tend to want to hang with the two kayakers above these days. Times they are a changin'. . . sigh . . . 

Got a little garden started . . .

I'll tell you what about the full sun I have around this place.  

It is nev.er.end.ing. 

Perfect!!

I did my best with the old place, but wow, I can not wait to see how the garden grows with all this sun.

Behind the garage, south facing, I plopped tomatoes, bush beans, rosemary, basil, eggplant and one zucchini oh, and a couple pickling cucumbers.

And by saying "plopped" that was after about who knows how many hours of getting this little stretch of soil plantable.  I mean truly, it had not been touched since we moved all those years ago.  But you know what...I went and got my little mantis tiller fixed, that I used to use at this house, and wowza...after I got all the big, deep weeds hand picked out, that tiller went to town. Now, if only I could get it to start again...you know, that pull-chord deal, the choke, the little pressy thing for gas, the start button...just can't get it to start again...taking it back for a check up...some day...

So, you know how those darn vegetables come in four or six packs?  Yeah, well, it's not like a gardener can just throw out living plants.  I mean, after all, I'm the lady pulled over on the side of the expressway pulling a ficus tree in my car that probably fell out of someone's pick up truck as they were moving. Therefore, in addition to the nice little strip garden, one corner of the house has a a yellow squash plant and another pickling cucumber, another corner of the house has two more yellow squash plants and out by the shed where I have a staging garden waiting to transplant this fall, there's 2 zucchini, yellow squash (I LOVE yellow squash), a pickling cucumber and an eggplant.

So...yeah...I got a little garden started!

I've been gardening since college.  Used to plant cherry tomatoes and cucumbers in pots on my deck.  I really don't have a choice any more.

(-:

And here's Lara.  Learning to ride her bike on the very road Livia just relearned to ride her bike on in April here after forgetting a little from last November when she had about a week on her bike before it snowed.  I did make a little attempt to find a pic of Liv to go with this, but alas, tried to pull a video I found over and no can doozy, wouldn't transfer...

Well . . .

Hello There!

Oh, my friends...WHEW!

Ok...moving on...

This little dear and I squeezed in a trip to the peony garden this evening.  Everyone else refused to come, something about finals and something about "going to see some flowers!," yada, yada. 

She and I just sniffed everything in sight. Touched and oo'd and ahhh'd and looked and all the painters' works and climbed a tree and...such a delight.

See that sniffer? 

We sniffed each.and.every.one!

(-:

 We even have our own bush at the house which is about two weeks behind the "in town" garden.  I find that fascinating as it's only about a 10 minute drive away.

And, wouldn't ya know it, but that cool kid and I even got to spend a field trip together today.  End of the year 1st grade trip to putt-putt.  Lots o' wiggle room given to 1st graders expected to play three courses of golf in two hours.  Wanna kick it in?  Go right ahead.  Wanna guide it in slowly with your club?  Sounds good to me.  "Skipping a hole?" Great idea! (-:

Hoping to get back into the grove over here.  Longest gap in posting since I started I think. I have been busy being in awe, and in a constant state of gratitude, for God's continual grace and mercy during times of hardship.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!