All in a Day's work.

Bede, and our neighbor Randy worked all day on the fence. They started at about 10 am and are just finishing up as I write this. Andrew was here for a little while. He helped out and did some yard work for us. The fence looks good as new. Bede is going to be very sore tomorrow...probably pretty sore now. They have been lifting, digging, carrying...all day long.





Thanks for doing such a great job!





Now if we can just keep the high winds away for a while.

Storm damage...

For the second time in less than a week, we have had severe thunder storms and very high winds.And for the second time in less than a week we woke to storm damage.
Last week it was the fence on our east side, this morning the west fence bit the big one.




Guess what we will be doing this weekend?
We didn't have a tornado here in Lincoln, but many to the west of us.
Rufus thinks it's great.
He has 3 backyards to sniff around in now.

New...ish coffee table

It's all about reusing and recycling. I recently purchased a coffee table from St. Louise Gift and Thrift Store. I have been looking for something to go with my western/cowboy decor. It also had to be smaller than a normal coffee table. Sometimes with patience...you get just what you want.







This one was owned by dog lovers as well, notice the previously chewed corners. All for $20.00. What a deal.

Did some yard work today. Planted some containers with flowers. Cleaned up the leftovers of last night's storm. We were lucky. We just had some plants blown over, but neighbors and people all over Lincoln lost trees and fences.




Had a little help from my gnomey...and Rufus too.

Take cover....

Unlike my daughter..I am a chicken when it comes to severe weather. We are in the middle of a wild thunder storm. Winds up to 65-70 mph. My poor plants are all rolling around the front porch. Reports of cars and trucks being blown off the road.






Things are calming down a little. My little river birch in the back yard was bent over almost horizontal. Rufus doesn't like this weather either. He is curled up right next to me looking to me for comfort...

Just a few words about this holiday and the men and women who died fighting for our freedom. Thanks to them we get a 3 day weekend to picnic, play, shop, chill, whatever. We get to do it without fear. We live in a country where we are free to celebrate...or not as we see fit. We live in a country where we can say what we want, complain about things and take part in the governmental process. Even though this election season seems to be the longest on record, we should thank God for the fact we have elections. Free elections. Elections where We The People get to cast a vote for the candidate of our choice. We get to do all this without fear. We, as a nation probably don't appreciate that fact very much, because most of us have never really lived in fear. Thanks in great part for those men and women we remember on Memorial Day. These brave people understood the value of service and the value of our freedom. They gave us the ultimate gift. They gave their lives for you and me. So before we get all excited about having a three day weekend, lets remember why. Thanks to all those who laid down their lives for their fellow man and to all those who serve today and have served in the past. Heros all. Thanks... God Bless you and God Bless America!

Dinner!

Went to the Farmer's Market in KC yesterday. The veggies looked sooo good, brought home lots. Tonight I saute`d fresh green beans in olive oil with garlic, mushrooms and a little lemon juice. We also had new baby potatoes with garlic oil and rosmary. MMMMmmmmmm..... Add a chicken breast and a loaf of fresh baked french bread and we had a great dinner. Looked so good I had to take a photo.




Our weekend in KC was great. We spent Sat. morning at the Battle of West Port reenactment and the afternoon on the Plaza. Dinner at the Cheescake Factory for Bede's birthday.We stayed at the Marriott...thanks Bud and Beth. We had a great room with a fantastic view of the plaza.

Sunday at the Farmers Market and lunch at the Brookside Market, where we bought enough salads and cheeses to last all week. Thanks Joanna for setting up such a nice weekend for your mom and dad.

Creating family memories....

Headline in todays local paper..."Woman bites police officer"

A police officer noticed an SUV illegaly towing an old Monte Carlo last night,(early this am actually). The Suv had no plates and the Monte Carlo had no lights. The driver of the SUV was drunk and was driving on a 15 yr suspended liscense. He also had his sleeping 5 yr old daughter on the seat next to him, no seat belt of course. Mom was in the Monte Carlo. After the officer arrested dad, he told mom she would be sited as well for child neglect for allowing her daughter to ride with a drunk driver and no seat belt. Mom evidently did not like her quality of motherhood called into question. So to prove herself a stering example of motherhood she bit the police officer on the arm...drawing blood. Guess who's going to jail???? That'll make a great memory in a few years..."Hey mom, remember that night you woke me up at 2am, put me in the car and we went for a drive...." Fun times....

Going to Kansas City....

Kansas City here we come. They got a crazy little woman there...


Spending the weekend with Joj and a few Civil War soldiers. No better way to celebrate Bede's b-day.

Happy Mother's Day!

We noticed that the mother bird was acting extremely defensive today. So we took a look in the nest and Yes indeed, we have babies! 3 or 4. I couldn't look very long as the mother robin began to dive bomb me repeatedly. She was screeching and flying as close to me as possible without actually hitting me. We left them alone. However, when I came out later in the afternoon to enjoy a few minutes sitting on the front porch, mother robin was not going to let that happen. As soon as I sat down, she flew to the railing and chirped at me...



in bird language, I'm sure it was pretty colorful stuff. Hey, we were here first. I will give them space, but I will sit on the porch...tomorrow...

Mother's Day

Joanna called this evening. During the conversation she told me she was looking forward to taking me out for dinner on Mother's Day...to Panera.










Then she said that mother's eat free on Sunday! Thanks Joj, you're my favorite daughter.

Vandalism

I JUST DON'T GET IT!









What kind of satisfaction does a person get from destruction? Someone decided to take out their aggression on a few of our windows at work over the weekend. We were not broken into, just broken. It's sad and stupid! Hopefully the perps feel good now. Their self esteem must be very healthy after they have vandalized a social service agency that serves the poor and homeless. Dumb as the rocks they threw...

New Neighbors

We've been watching for a couple of weeks as a robin built a nest on the front porch. I climbed up on a ladder this afternoon to take a peek. Mother bird was furious with me and screeched from a nearby tree. She may be upset because they might be ready to hatch. Looks like a little area on one of the eggs might have a hole in it.

(Or it's just bird doo).
We'll keep an eye on things and let you know when we have babies.

New Trick

Andrew decided to teach Rufus how to sit up and beg. He decided this while eating a bag of jalapeno chips. Rufus was begging on cue after about 5 minutes. He is either really smart or will work for spicey food.......
Yeah....gotta be the spicey food!

Chillin'

Rufus and I are just chillin' today. I'm off for the day and he is off every day.
Beautiful day, great weather, lots to do but doing none of it.

Talked to Bud yesterday. I am the designated "out of state contact" for the McMahon Family. In the event of a big earthquake, and possible lack of communication in the state, they will call me and I will let them know who I've talked to and how and where they are. I'ts actually a very good idea. Allie is the organizer. She has a plan and has compiled all the phone numbers. Interestingly enough the day I received the initial email from Allie, there was an earthquake in Missouri...maybe I need an out of state contact as well!





Also heard from Paul and Lori. They are expecting their first baby in Dec. Congrats to them. 29 years after the first Bolin grandchild. They just keep on coming.