20 Years ago today

Twenty years ago today I was introduced to my sweetheart. I had a good friend whos husband worked with Drew and kept trying to set us up but I wouldn't go on blind date.... I had another good friend who knew Drew ( but did not know the other friend) who introduced us...True love, it was ment to be.

PS don't you just love my 90's hair!!

The 4th of July

We had a great 4th we were up at 5:30 (yes AM!!) so that Drew and Justin could get to the starting line on time. They ran the Peachtree Road Race together Drew's 21st and Justin's 1st. I was excited and sad at the same time. I was going to run the Peachtree with Drew last year. It was a Christmas gift to Drew, then I got a stupid sinus infection which led to taking some meds which led to having tendinitis and tendionosis in both of my Achilles tendons. Four months of Physical Therpy later my feet were better but still have pain sometimes. Anyway back to my boys :)

Shannon and Max ran the race with them so Chase and I went over to their house to get the girls ready to go down and watch the race. Drew, Justin, Shannon and Max went down to the race together. Chase, the girls and I picked up Granmommy and Grandaddy and went down to watch. Thank goodness Grandaddy was willing to drive. I hate driving in Atlanta. We were really lucky and got a spot close to where we wanted to stand to watch for our runners. It was so nice outside it really was a great day for running. Our gang ran the race in an hour and eigh minuets. Not bad for having an 11 year old (who had not trained) with them.

After we got home showered and took naps we went over to Granmommy and Grandaddy's house for a cook out. We played games, ate and played more games. Then we went and watched fireworks. The past few years we have gone to Lenox Mall and watched they but this year we just went up the road to watch. It was nice to be close to home but not as much fun as being at the Mall and feeling the big boom in your chest when the fireworks go off.

Next year's goal the whole family running together....that's my goal anyway.

Hope you all had a great 4th and are having wonderful summer.

sorry there are no photos I am having to use the boys compter and it will not download them :(

I snagged the one of the t-shirt from the web

Fainting goats

We were out to dinner last week with Drew's family while we were at dinner we got to talking about fainting goats, which got us to talking about the Mythbusters trying to get the fainting goat to faint... I was laughing so hard tears were running down my face. Some how I missed that episode so I had to look it up. I found this clip on youtube.

Favorite meal

I was just reading a thread over at Ravelry about favorite childhood meals. I think the one I miss the most is country ham, grits, with pan fried sweet potatoes and fried okra. No one can cook country ham like my grandfather could and he made sweet potato fries before the were trendy. I miss my grandfather and his cooking too!

I don't have any photos of my grandfather on my computer and my scanner isn't working right now :(

How does my garden grow?

I really wanted to have a garden this year, so I decided to get containers and found these at Wal-mart for $5 each. Chase drilled holes in the bottom for me, I added a layer of gravel and then filled them with soil. I have a Japanese Black Heirloom Tomato, squash and cucumber planted in the first one. A Creole Heirloom tomato, squash, and cucumber in the second one. In the third one I have a Rose Heirloom tomato, eggplant, sweet pepper, and a basil plant.

I am excited to see if they do well. I already have some tomatoes getting ripe and several squash and cucumbers starting. The boys seem to like to check on the plants with me but I don't think they will eat any of what I planted. I may have to get some more container next year so I can plant some cantaloupe and watermelon.

Summer reading

I LOVE to read and my kids love to read ... so reading the books is not a problem. I think that if the kids are on vacation from school then any summer reading should be optional.
va·ca·tion- noun

a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.

HUMM key words here suspension of work

My kids will be the first to tell you we are the mean parents we make our kids do some kind of school work over the summer just to keep their little brains going. We do a lot of reading on our own. This year my oldest is going to take two classes over the summer one on grammar ( which I could use myself) and one on writing. They only last a week and are two hours a day.

I think having the option of having summer assignment is great BUT it should not count against them if they don't do it. Have them write a paper on the book or take a test and then use that as an EXTRA grade. If you want the whole class to read something together then do it during the school year....I'm just saying

6th grade
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan

9th grade
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

Talents from Generation to Generation

Elizabeth Marshall Ayers
"Granny"



















Edyth Kenny Powers
"Grandma"

I have been thinking a lot about talents lately. For a long time I didn't think I had any. Both of my grandmothers were wonderful artist, gardeners, seamstresses and cooks among many other things.

I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother whom I called Granny, when I was very young I could not say my "G's" so I called her Nanny and as an older teenager and into my twenties I often, affectionately called her Lizzy. I spent many afternoons sewing cloths for my dolls from scraps of material that she was making cloths for me. While I spent many hours "sewing" with her this in NOT one of my talents. I loved to be in the kitchen with her cooking and baking. I learned the " a little of this and a little of that method " with her. Cooking is something I am good at but didn't really think of it as a talent until later.

I did not spend as much time with my paternal grandmother but learned so much from her. She always made me feel special. The first real memory I have of spending time with her was the summer I was 8. She drove down to South Carolina from Pennsylvania with my uncle who was 16 or 17 at the time. Then drove all the way back with me. We spent time baking together, making art projects and just hanging out. I loved every minuet of the two weeks I spent with my grandparents that summer. It became the highlight of my summer when I got to go visit them.

As I was growing up anytime talents were talked about at school or church. I would think to myself I don't have any. While I LOVE art and so wanted to draw and paint well like my grandmother well lets just say that isn't one of my talents ;)

To me a talent was, drawing,painting, singing, dance, playing a musical instrument ... something tangible and I didn't feel that I had any of those ( I KNEW I didn't have any of those). I had friends who danced, sang, played instruments and not only did they do these things they did them really really well.

When I went to college and people would ask me if I had any talents my answer usually was " I am here for the entertainment others" or " I smile really well". It was said jokingly, but it really was to hide what I thought was a huge fault... I had no talent in ANYTHING.

It wasn't until I was older and already married that I began to realize that some talents are not as easily seen as others. I also discovered that I do have talents. I don't sew (much), I don't sing, I don't dance, I don't garden much,( in fact I really do think I have a black thumb). I don't play a musical instrument but, I can cook, bake, crochet, knit , and rug hook. Once given the opportunity I discovered that I work well with clay. I love babies and can usually get them to stop crying and to sleep when no one else can ( but not always ). I can keep a secret and if I tell you I am going to do something you can depend on me to do it.

So what does all this have to do with my grandmothers? I know I may not be a great artist in the drawing and painting department or gardener like they were but I also know that I am a better person for knowing them, spending time with them and learning from them. They taught me to love, listen and look for the beauty in the world around me. They taught me to try new things and not be afraid of failing.

This is a dress I made for my niece for her second birthday. I knitted the top and did a very simple skirt on the bottom.



P.S
Least you think my mother does not exist or that I did not learn from her, she does, I did and I love her very much but that is a whole other post.