Oh no not another video

I can smell Fall in the air this morning.  I wonder why so early.

This was my sunrise this morning.

The organic garden

here are pictures of some of the things we planted in the class I'm taking on organic gardening....raspberries, dill, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers and Canna lilies to name a few. 

Wednesday doings

The movie is of Owen washing his family car they just got.

Still on pain meds from dental surgery...oh my gosh!

Owen has left the building.

Ooops...Teddy Bear Picnic is next week but all the kids passed around the bears so it was ok.

Owen's Mohawk Haircut...wait until his parents find out.

Gram's Bear

Here's Gram Bear that I spoke of along with Owen's Teddy Bear, waiting to go to the library tomorrow.

Spent the morning at the dentist.  Face is swollen and numb but I lived through it and it's over with.  I have a very nice and professional dentist, she does very good work and has a wonderful assistant . 

Sassy

That's the name I have given this squirrel.  She likes to shake all the bird seed onto the ground and then making chirping sounds if there isn't an ear of corn in the feeder or a few peanuts on the ground.  I spent the day laboring over the fact that I have a four hour dentist appointment tomorrow.  It will be over by noon. 

this day

I finished up the yard work...well there's always something but it's finished for today.  It looks pretty good and it was quiet and peaceful for a couple hours of reading.  I finally have some buds coming on the flowers and I'm looking forward to finding out what they are going to be.  I also have one red rose caught between the Chocolate Joe Pye Weed.  The Sweet Autumn Clematis is almost in bloom.  I guess that means we're coming into August.  Tomorrow I'm going to water with the feed stuff.  The Morning Glories are not doing well and something is eating the leaves, that never happened before.  I'm having a little problem digging down far enough with the vines I want to move...I usually know the name but I am having another Mature Moment...the flowers are orange/red and look sort of like tubes of lipstick.  Going to read for an hour and then lights out.  I think my book is called Back To Earth.  It's a 7 day library book and pretty good.  Tuesday story time is a teddy bear picnic.  We are to bring our favorite teddy bear and a blanket...I think I'll take Hali too this time.  I have a home made Grams Bear that needs an outing hahahaha.  I'm such a kid!  72 and sunny again today...we sure are having a spectacular summer.

It looks like I figured it out sort of.  It's my old camera without sound though.  My new camera with sound is not compatible with my old computer so I'll have to save up and only have silent movies in the meantime.

The clip is just me experimenting...it's Owen chasing a seagull.  He's pretty far away but you can see his little head bob up and down as he runs along and you can see the seagull take off when he gets to close.  Only his Nana would think how wonderful LOL

It sort of has a 3D effect.  Thanks for the help!

At the park

At the park

Trying to teach myself how to add video...obviously I don't quite get the hang of it.

What a beautiful summer!

It was perfect weather for a band concert last night at St. James park and today we got a chance to go to Leight's Park and chase seagulls.  It was a great break from yard work but tomorrow back again to cutting back and making room for my overgrown plants.  Maybe it will rain...in that case I have a new library book to read.

I have the ingredients to make a pasta salad...black olives, tomatoes, green pepper, cheese, pasta.  One of my favorites.

What A Wonderful World

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Yard work

Continuing to prune the bushes, what a job.  Haven't started to move the vines and bushes yet.  One more day of pruning along the fence and I should be done.  Then I'll move a couple things then trim....then Owen and Hali will be back to play in the yard.  It's getting a little easier to do this work and more fun than riding my NordicTrack to the Maui Video.  Now time for supper.

Moon Pies and Movie Stars

That's the name of the book I just finished.

I guess no takers on Bastille Day.

Back to yard work.  I'm going to thin out the Sweet Autumn Clematis a little so it blooms better.  Then after that whatever strikes my fancy.  Arms still aching from yesterday.

Lots of butterflies and bees and birds in the yard today and one chipmonk looking for a place to raise her family I guess.  A beautiful sunny breezy 70 degrees today.  My favorite weather.

For all you French, tomorrow is Bastille Day...I am part French and part Candian French.

Hali and Owen visited this morning for hugs and kisses and Apple juice and cheese sticks.  They were with their Daddy and they enjoyed watching the latest family video and playing Go Fish.

I pruned the North Fence which includes the Grape Vines...four hours.  Grapes are on schedule so it's time to prune back to get the sun and rain on them better.

Reading a fairly good book, a seven day one that's due on Tuesday so I better get reading.

Farmer's market tomorrow.  Looking forward to some great veggies and some fresh berries and eggs.

 

Bastille Day is a National holiday in France. It is very much like Independence Day in the United States because it is a celebration of the beginning of a new form of government.

 

At one time in France, kings and queens ruled. Many people were very angry with the decisions made by the kings and queens.

 

The Bastille was a prison in France that the kings and queens often used to lock up the people that did not agree with their decisions. To many, it was a symbol of all the bad things done by the kings and queens. So, on July 14, 1789, a large number of French citizens gathered together and stormed the Bastille.

 

Just as the people in the United States celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence as the beginning of the American Revolution, so the people in France celebrate the storming of the Bastille as the beginning of the French Revolution. Both Revolutions brought great changes. Kings and queens no longer rule. The people rule themselves and make their own decisions.

 

 

Hali came along to library day yesterday and she was very impressed with all the children there.  She didn't stop smiling at all.  It was Froggy story day and they each had their pictures taken with the frog.  We had a picnic after on a blanket in the library yard.  By then it was nap time and then they were supposed to leave but they didn't.  They stayed overnight and left this morning at 9 am.  They were both up about 0530 playing and having a great time.  After they left I spent most of the day outside...although not working in the yard.  I did fill the feeders so that was something.  Last evening when we were outside Owen noticed the little girl across the street so I said he could go there.  He took his bubbles along and they had fun together.  I got a new bread recipe from my sister and I made it this evening.  It's delicious and also a lite bread.  I have made it in preparation for my fresh tomatoes I'm going to get at farmer's market on Saturday...I also want peas, corn and raspberries.  I'll probably get some farm eggs too.

Here's the bread recipe...it's for a bread machine:

HIGH PROTEIN DIET BREAD

A high fiber, protein complimented bread developed at Cornell University.

1 ½ t. yeast
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy flour
2 T. wheat germ
½ t. salt
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. honey (Use the spoon you used for the oil, and the honey won't stick to the spoon!)
1 cup water

Cook on white bread cycle

and here's the recipe for how to eat a fresh tomato...

Grill or toast a slice of country bread, coat lightly with olive oil and rub a peeled clove of garlic over the bread. Cut a ripe tomato in half horizontally and rub one half of the tomato into the bread until the tomato flesh is thoroughly massaged into the bread. Top with basil.
(looks like I'll have to get some fresh Basil too)

Above are pictures of the Grands from yesterday and today.

Finished my book

It's library day tomorrow.  Story time with Owen.  Tomorrow I will be taking Hali too.  I'd rather have this be Owen's time but it's nice to be with her too.  I get a 7 day book now on Tuesdays.  I never got them before because I wouldn't finish it.  The one I got last week is called Flower Children and it's written by Maxine Swann.  It's a good book but the last chapter made me cry.  That was unexpected.  I finished it this evening while sitting on the screen porch.  The street cleaner came along just as I was finishing it and all the cats ran in the house.  Hoping for a cool day on Wednesday so I can prune some of the bushes and flowers.  I want to move some of the Mallow and one of the trumpet vines and one of the lilacs.  They've outgrown their spaces. 

Had a 'hatching' or whatever of Red Spotted Purple butterflies this afternoon.  First time I've had this kind.  They seem to be favoring the little cup and saucer feeding stations because of the water in the saucers.  I'm going to try a little later to get a picture of one of them.  Also a couple hundred birds in the backyard now.  Finches, Robins, Sparrows, Cardinals, Cow Birds, Flickers, and others.  I think the reason the back yard is so active is because it shot up to 90 today and as soon as the sun passed the backyard I started watering.  Many, many birds flew in for baths.  Or maybe they came for Anne Frank's goodbye.  I also noticed one little chipmonk, cute thing and of course the squirrel family that lives in the back yard.  Even though I put peanuts out for them, the darn babies this year insist on jumping into the feeder.  I think it's going to rain.

Tags: Red Spotted Purple Butterflies

It's 85 degrees, too hot to work outside, just right for reading inside.  Owen and Hali are gone home now, time for a rest.  Pictures are around my yard.  I took them to remember for next year.

Don't Drink Bottled Water...here's why

By many measures, bottled water is a scam. In most first-world countries, the tap water is provided by a government utility and is tested regularly. (You can look up your water in the National Tap Water Quality Database.) Taste tests have shown that in many municipalities, tap water actually tastes better. Bottled water is not as well regulated and studies have shown that it is not even particularly pure. A four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and neurotoxin styrene (Grist). Much bottled water doesn’t come from a “Artesian springs” and is just tap water anyhow. (Coca-Cola adds salt to its Dasani water to make it taste better, just like fast food.)

Not only is it more expensive per gallon than gasoline, bottled water incurs a huge carbon footprint from its transportation, and the discarded bottles are a blight. It’s no wonder that some people even think it’s a sin.

If you want to carry your water with you, get a bottle and fill it. (Look here for some advice on durable, non-toxic container options.) If your water at home tastes funny, try an activated charcoal or ceramic filter. Here is a comparison of home-use water filters from Grist.

                                              ka

                    Boom

 

         Happy Fourth of July

 

Fun At The Beach

Spent the day at Bay Beach where the tickets for the rides are only twenty five cents and the swimming pool is free.  Had a nap, a meal, and a movie and now Owen is gone home.  A big day for him tomorrow.  Independence Day he calls it and that's what it is.

Tags: Independence Day, Charlotte's Web

New Aquatic Center Nearby

Stopped there yesterday but we were too early.  It doesn't open until 1pm and we didn't get a chance to go back before Owen's Daddy picked him up.

Tags: Resch Acquatic Center