Another Year....

Well 2008 is almost gone. I am ready for a new year and a fresh start. This last year has been to say the least long. I guess as I think back over it I have been through allot but I have also accomplished many things. To run down the list, I was unemployed for several months, had surgery( got rid of some no longer needed parts, and I don't miss them one bit), found a new job, finished my degree, saw the first African American elected as President, found a second job. Geez, no wonder I am a little tired.

Looking forward I am hoping that 2009 will be a better year for all of us. I hope our new President will be able to inspire all of us to make changes so our country can turn around so we can all feel more confident about the direction our lives are heading.

Happy New Year Everyone!

A sign of the times.

I drove down the Prospect shopping corridor here in Shampoo Banana this morning on my way to get a few things from one of the several mega shopping marts. The shopping marts all have gas stations at the front of their parking lots. They also now have digital signs to display the price of gas. Gone are the signs with the plastic numbers that had to be changed for each digit every time the price of gas changed. The clerk standing with a long poll, a suction cup on the end, swapping out each number needed to update the price. I guess with the way gas prices move up and down, sometimes twice a day, the station attendants can no longer keep up with the old way of updating the price. The signs are great, large, and very easy to read. Before long, the old signs will become a thing of the past.

One thing every day...

There is at least one thing everyday that strikes me as odd, or at least makes me think, I find that strange doesn't everyone else find that strange. This morning I was watching a news piece about the residents of Galveston TX and all of the storm damage there. The news cast had pictures of entire areas covered with debris, places where buildings had been but they are not there now. I get that, big storm, waves, rain, and winds. Total loss and devastation.

Then the news program showed a returning resident cleaning up his home. He was saying how his home was a total loss. It was still standing, windows were broken but. He was loading pots and pans from the kitchen cupboard into a trash can, carrying them to the street and dumping them onto a heap at the curb.

Pots and Pans.....a total loss? Maybe they need to be washed after a bad storm has blown out your windows and rained inside of your house. Really, are pots and pans a total loss from storm damage? Ok the carpet, the bedding, the sofa maybe.

Seems to me, wash up the dishes and they are good to use. Of course that might mean a smaller insurance check.

Summer Sweet Corn
It is August and a trek to the far rows of the Farmers Market at the Square yields a Central Illinois favorite. There it is, with names like, Bicolor Sweet, Country Gentleman, BiQueen, Incredible, and Illini Gold. It’s all good when it is fresh. Juicy sweet corn picked early in the morning, or maybe the night before ,is the true reason why we welcome August here in corn country. Sure, the farm fields have been thick with tall stands of corn for weeks now but, as most of us learned as children, that corn is trucked away for other purposes. We have been waiting for the sweet ears of corn, to cook, slather in butter and salt, ready too much down, row after row of kernels. We know, as we eat, the juice will run down our chin and the corn silks will stick on our teeth, but there is just nothing like it all year long.
So here you go. Sorry that you are not here to enjoy…….you will just have to get yourself back to Central Illinois if you want to get in on the fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Summer, Summer, here at last, Soon you will be gone in a flash!

It is mid July, hard to believe, the days are long and lazy. I fear I am not taking good advantage of the warm weather. My life has been work lately, far from relaxed. I had to find a new job and a new Doctor. So after several months, I can report the Doctor did a great job, kudos to Dr Fay at Carle Clinic, and I have a new job. I have spent the last few weeks healing up from surgery and training up, for my new job. Both are moving along very well.

I can remember when summer meant, long days at the pool, trips to the Custard cup for ice cream, lightning bugs, garden veggies, and night filled with the sound of crickets. Now my hopes for summer are to, go to the pool, shop at the farmers market, and enjoy the warm evenings. Hmmmm the list has sure gotten smaller.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Just Gorgeous!

Photo by my daughter.

Seedlings in a Box

Since my last post the warm weather has prompted me to think about planting. So far I have been busy with my pots. I added some compost and peat moss to a large pot on my front porch and sprinkled in some mixed lettuces. Next I prepared some other pots for some spinach and tomatoes. I received a shipment of six heirloom tomato plants on Wednesday and so far I have been moving them inside and out to keep them from the cold and wind. Several weeks back I started some basil plants from seed. Basil sprouts quickly and grows well from seed. I have done this in the past and given some of the plants away to family. My seedlings have been ready to move into larger pots for days now but I didn't have anything to put them in. My daughter brought me a few pots to use but I have more seedling then those will handle. Then the other day I was in the garage and I realized that all I needed was a temporary home for my seedlings. I had some small boxes lying around and thought why not plant them up in a box. Re-use right? I had an attractive shallow box that some cologne came in, so I flipped the lid around and potted up my seedlings. Plenty of room for them to grow and the box will last as long as I need it to. Here is a photo; it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Spring has sure taken its sweet time!

Spring is finally here, I think! April is always and on again off again month. My birthday is in the middle of April and I can think back to warm sunny celebrations and cold rainy ones as well. I am glad it has finally warmed up. I am excited to be looking forward to planting a vegetable garden with Amanda, my daughter. I have kept my patience up, since some months back I ordered some heirloom tomato plants I have decided it will be time to plant when they arrive. I have to admit that I think I might plant some lettuce in the large pot by my front door.

Patience has been a virtue I have practiced a lot lately. It has been a stretch to finish my 15 credit hours in school this semester. I just keep reminding myself I will be 10 hours away from being finished once this semester is done. Of course my other frustration has been that I have no job. I do not miss my old job, in fact in some ways I wish I would have never taken it, that is a long story. For now I keep sending out resumes and telling myself the right job will come along. Sometimes that voice is very small and I can't hear it very well. Oh well, who knows, maybe just like the final arrival of spring I will finally stumble on a job!

Winter Winter Everywhere!

February……….the clutch of winter!

Winter never seems to a problem until February rolls around. This month of snow, blow and rain always keeps me inside and for the most part inactive. I tell myself I can be busy inside but the reality is I watch a lot of TV and not much else. The end result is that February always feels like lost time.

However March is here and spring has to be just around the corner. Because of one of my classes this semester I am really wound up to plant a garden. I am ready for fresh veggies. The Market at the Square will start in May and I am hoping to get seedlings there. Brent and Amanda are willing to donate the ground, so we are planning to do raised beds filled with lots of organic fill. The question is, how big do we make it, probably better to be conservative to start. With any luck there will be abundant veggies by mid summer.

The down side to all this excitement is there are still weeks to go before the garden can get under way!

So come on spring, I am ready NOW!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year !!!!!

Another year done and gone. Good news is, we get to do it all over again. Again!,,,, well maybe I can do somethings better then last year. I do reserve the right to repeat some things that were good from last year. I can't learn everything new!

New Years Resolutions:

I have a few, not sure I want to write them down yet. After all, then they are out there and I will have to work at them.

In the next year I wish all of my family and friends the very best in everything they do.
Mom and Terry, grow your church.
Debbi, rack up the credits.
Jennifer and Duncan, make Oregon your home. ( hope to come visit soon)
Amanda and Brent, the house is calling, the paint, the floors.....
Chris, what can I say, the raise, the money.
David, I am not sure, I know the laundry is done and the garage to clean, now what?


Oh and I wish little Makenna the very best year of her life SO FAR! Very do-able since she is only 16 months old. Geez she has it easy!