I would like to introduce you to Ms. Gabby Ella Bella.

Here she is lounging on the couch.

Trying to be cute.

Getting a belly rub from her "brother". lol

Look at those ears!

This is Bella, my birthday gift from my DH. We had a daschund years and years ago who was sadly ran over by my DH's work truck one evening. I have wanted another one for a really long time. I find them to be really smart and loving. And protective when needed.

Hope everyone is having a good summer.

Nancy

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We have three LARGE fig trees here on the farm. They have produced lots and lots of figs. Of course that is not what I need the help with.LOL I need the help with the beetles that are taking over the figs. Lots and lots of beetles!!!!  How do I get rid of these? And is there something I can do next year to prevent them BEFORE they come? This is my first year with fig trees and I really don't know anything about caring for them. They are old and established so I don't need help growing them, just a way to keep the beetles away, and any normal yearly care they night need.

Thanks to all,

Nancy

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Ever have one of those nights when you didn't want the same ole thing and decided to see what you could whip up with what you have around? Well that is what I did tonight. I got tired of the same ole same ole and decided to see what else I could do.

On hand I had andouille sausage(a spicy sausage from LA.), red onion, cherry tomatoes, shredded lettuce, bell peppers, shredded colby jack cheese, and jalapenos. So what did I do????  I threw the sausage on the flat cast iron griddle, sliced some red onion, halved the cherry tomatoes, sliced the bell peppers, and diced some jalapenos and grilled them on the same griddle with the sausage. While that was grillling I put the shredded lettuce in a bowl, then sliced the sausages in rounds and added that on top of the lettuce, layed the grilled veggies on top of that and sprinkled with the cheese.....mmmm  mmmmm good.!  I made enough for dh and I and we both enjoyed it.

Of course all my "throw togethers" do NOT end up as yummy....there were some "throw aways" from time to time.....but hey, ya gotta try sometimes right? LOL

Nancy

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Well my ds's birthday S.W.A.T party was yesterday and all went well. The "kids" had fun(I say it that way because they all are 16 and over, boy they grow so fast) with the S.W.A.T part, they set up senerios and played them out. There would be terrorists who had hostages and the S.W.A.T team would go in to rescue them. Sometimes they were in the woods, and a couple of times in the barn. They really enjoyed themselves and I am always happy when they use thier imagination and are outside instead of sitting in front of the tv playing video games. LOL

While they were playing I was doing the cooking. I got a few recipes I had never made before from a magazine and went to work on them. The menu included a few "salads" but it is hot here in GA. and I wanted something easy to make and cold to eat.

The menu included:

grilled bbq briskit

new potatoes with a butter/chive drizzle

blt noodle salad

carrot and raisen salad

itialian cucumber/tomatoe salad

black forrest parfiets

pound cake, blueberry parfiets

birthday cake

I made everything except the birthday cake.

Here are some of the recipe in a basic quicky format(so I won't have to type to much.LOL)

bbq brisket: pour liquid smoke over briskit, sprinkle with celery salt, garlic salt, and onion salt. Wrap in aluminum foil and put on heated grill for three hours. Remove from foil and put back on grill for 20 or 30 minutes to "brown"   When mine was done I sliced it and let everyone add the bbq sauce when they served themselves.

New potatoes with butter/chives:  wash potatoes, peel one strip of peeling around middle only, boil till tender, meanwhile melt butter, add salt and chives and garlic salt, transfer potatoes to serving dish and drizzle with butter mixture.

blt noodle salad: boil spiral noodles as directed on box. cook some bacon and crumble into small pieces, slice cherry tomatoes in half, add to noodles with ranch dressing and mix. cool in fridge till time to serve.(I also added black olive slices to mine and left out serving it on lettuce like recipe called for)

itialian cucumber/tomatoe salad: slice cucumbers, and half cherry tomatoes. Slice some red onion. Add all together and toss with itialian dressing. Chill till ready to serve.

carrot/raisen salad: slice carrot thin, add raisens. mix with mayonaise, a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a couple of teaspoons of milk. Chill

black forrest parfiets: layer chocolate pudding, cherry pie filling and whipped cream into dishes(for this I used clear plastic cups for easy clean up) Chill

pound cake/blueberry parfiets: cube up some pound cake, layer cake, blueberries and vanilla pudding into dishes(also used plastic cups here) and top with whipped cream. Chill

Well that is a quick recipe posting.LOL   Everything was rather simple and easy to prepare. The longest being the grilling time on the briskit. Everything else was ready when the briskit came off the grill and was ready to serve. I didn't go into all the recipe details, like mixing the pudding or making the whipped cream, the boxes tell ya how to do that! LOL

I would love to post pics but cannot find my camera's usb cable so am not able to load my pics onto the computer for now...sorry. But I have to say the plates looked lovely and colorful when they were full of the food! LOL

Thanks for visiting.

Nancy

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My son is turning 18 next monday. He has just graduated high school and in august will be going to test to become a state patrol dispatcher. He can't be a patrolman till he is 21 so he is going to be a dispatcher for the three years till he can go to the academy to become an officer.

We have decided that his big b-day theme party will be S.W.A.T. In honor of his wanting to be in law enforcement(someday he wants to make it to S.W.A.T).  His friends are all gonna come to the farm, bring thier airsoft guns(plastic bb type guns) and have a good time tracking each other down. They will have the barn, a shop, the woods and the pastures to use. They will be at it for hours I am sure. LOL

While they are playing I will be cooking up a birthday dinner.  I am thinking a bbq'd briskit, new potatoes, and some other sides(I am still planning), and of course cake for dessert, and maybe a black forrest triffel(sp). I just saw a recipe for that in a mag. I bought. Sounds good!

I hope they will have fun, and that the dinner turns out good.

Should be a great day of fun.

Nancy

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That is pretty much my last two weeks in a nut-shell. LOL

My mom came down for a visit and we spent hours and hours picking blackberries and wild cherries. She made a blackberry cobbler for the 4th of july gathering and put the wild cherries and the rest of the black berries up as jelly/jam.  There is still plenty of berries and cherries left to be picked and I think my ds will be making homemade wine with some of them.

The 4th of july gathering went wonderfully...we had 40+ people here, but it all went smoothly. The menu included hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings(with my homemade sauce), chips, baked beans, cast iron dutch oven potatoes(cooked by my cast iron cooking bil), cherry pie (by my niece), blueberry pie(me) and blackberry cobbler(mom), hashbrown casserole(by sil) and various other sides. It was plenty of food, plenty of fun(including swimming in the lake, 4 wheeling, shooting, motorcycles) and plenty of family and friends.  It did storm right about dark, but it passed quickly and fireworks were still enjoyed. And when we brought out the birthday cake for my mom and passed it around with icecream a food fight ensued, started by one of my brothers and most of the nieces and nephews. All in all a good time was had by all.

A few family members stayed overnight and we were packing up and cleaning up on saturday. Since it had stormed the night before we didn't get around to the watermelon...so mom and I were cutting it late saturday morning when the knife slipped and went right into my thumb. It sliced halfway across the top of my knuckle and I knew right away I was gonna need stitches, so it was wrapped up and off to the emergancy room I went. Almost 2 hours later I came home with 15 new stitches down the outside edge of my left thumb. It was almost a two inch long cut, and it bleed so profusely that the nurse had a hard time stitching it. She ended up doing one long running "whip type" stitch, wrapping it 15 times. When she was done the protective pad she had put under my hand had a blood spot the size of a dinner plate. Who knew a thumb could bleed so much? LOL

Two days later it was time for our chicken delivery. We have 6 chicken houses and since I was out of commision for  a while my dh, ds and two of my sons friends who work for us took care of setting up the houses and dumping the chicks when they arrived. It was hard for me to stay out of the chicken houses because I felt out of control and didn't know what was happening. I wanted to  make sure everything was being done so I kept calling on the cells and "reminding" them of what needs done....I think they were ready to strangle me by the end of the day.LOL

Today was a trip to the dr's office for a look at the stitches and see if they could come out. But there was a part of the cut where the skin had been overlapped when stitched and needed a bit more time to heal so the stitches stayed in...I have another appt. on tuesday to see if it will be ready by then. I had cut some nerves and my thumb  has some numbness to it, and when I touch certian parts of my forarm I can feel it pull from under my thumbnail, almost like the feeling of over extending a tendon.

So that was my last couple of weeks...although not 100% wonderful, still mostly good!

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th, and continue to have a great summer.

Nancy

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But to be honest I made him cry first.

I was sitting here saturday evening thinking about the next day being father's day and my daddy. So I wrote a "poem". And when it was done I sent it to my brothers and sister.

On father's day my brother texted me saying I made him cry when he read the poem. Here is the poem I wrote:

That's My Dad.

Have you seen a man wearing a cap with a cigar in his mouth?

That's my dad.

He has a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.

That's my dad.

He might be in a garden, picking vegetables.

That's my dad.

Or on a ball field playing baseball.

That's my dad.

He could be camping on a lake.

That's my dad.

With his fishing pole in the water.

That's my dad.

He's probably at a yard sale.

That's my dad.

With his wife.

That's my dad.

He is probably with a grandchild.

That's my dad.

He loves those kids.

That's my dad.

He might be helping someone in need.

That's my dad.

Always there to lend a hand.

That's my dad.

So GOD if you see anyone like this.

That's my dad.

Open your warms and welcome him home.

That's my dad.

And tell him we miss him.

That's my dad.

And love him so.....because,

That's my dad.

The reply I got on my email from my brother was:

I am not GOD but if I was I think I would be saying.....

Yes child, I have seen your dad and what a blessing he was for me while he was on earth.

I knew that I know it all but when I seen, before your dad was born, the ways he would touch people with his kind heart/twinkle/ and with that cigar, I've got to say I had to see it all play out to believe it.    He just left here talking with me-telling me thanks for saving him and his family. And to especially don't give up on those that aren't yet.  Same smile and twinkle he had there as he was talking about his family and friends. He is out and about now, visiting with friends and family, probably telling them about ya'll.      I will tell him you checked in on him, he will be pleased. But don't worry, he has no needs here and you will see him again, and he will be here to welcome you here. I promise. So you go have a good father's day because he is having the best.

Love you,

GOD

Of course that is when I cried.

But I think I will copy both, and maybe frame them and put them on my bedside table....a rememberance of sorts.

Hope everyone had a wonderful fathers day with thier father. And if you, like me, have lost your father, I hope your memories were good ones.

Thanks,

Nancy

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I bought my daddy a card.

He won't read it.

I got him a gift.

He can't get it.

I bought him balloons.

He'll never see them.

Although I want to.

I can't go see him.

And even if I try to call.

He won't answer the phone.

Because I lost my daddy.

He is not here with us anymore.

Except in our hearts,

And our memories.

I love you daddy.

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Last night was the big night. My 17yo son Shelton graduated from high school. I am such a proud mama....and his daddy is bursting with pride! lol

Everyone says we did such a good job raising him, he is polite and helpful.  That makes us more proud than you can every know. It means we did something right.LOL

He is a good boy, and very smart.  He will be going to take a test to be a dispatcher for the state patrol when he turns 18 in july. Then when he is 21 he will go to the acadamy to become a state patrol officer. He has already researched this and knows what he needs to do. He has a friend that is a state patrol officer who will help him to know all he needs to know for the tests.

Here are a few pics from graduation.

Shelton and his proud papa!

His very proud mama.

His grandma.....grand-daddy there in spirit, we all know that.

Happy family

Younger cousin(no really LOL), it will be his turn next year!

Friends....very important!!!!!!

HIs face when he got his "gift" from his mama and daddy.

A happy graduate at home after the ceremony. He is so silly! LOL

Shelton dressed up and ready to go to the ceremony(should have posted first.LOL) with his gift from his grandma. Isn't he handsome?!

Well that is my young man, on the verge of adulthood, ready to take on the world.

Nancy

Have I mentioned how proud we are???  LOL LOL

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Actually it is not mine it belongs to the owner of the farm, but he lives in north ga. so I will be the one raising it.  I have always wanted to raise a foal and now is my chance.

Woke up this morning and went to the back porch to check the mare like always. Usually she is standing in the corner or grazing among a patch of thistel. Not today....so out to the field to look for it, which wasn't an easy task as we haven't  cut the hay yet and the grass is waist high.LOL

We finally found her in the woods with the new colt. She let me rub on the colt a little which was great, that has been a lifelong dream of mine. I later took her some food and water and she ate the food and drank most of the water.

As I was starting this post DH calls from the tractor and says the mare and colt are on the move, so I ran outside and got some feed and led her into the barn paddock. Which is good, now I can keep a closer eye on them to make sure everything is ok. And bossman is on his way by so he will get to see the new one.

Here are a few pics....

The end!  LOL

Nancy

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