Saturday

get the gun~

Someone please go get the gun and shoot my printer!! 

Hair pulling... verge of swearing... kicking and throwing things...

I'm going bonkers over putting in the black ink cartridge!!!!

I went through this once before where it just would NOT go in right ... after many frustrating tries I gave my daughter a call ... she comes over ... pop... in it goes... no trouble whatsoever. 

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!!

The colored cartridge just snaps right in; but the dog gone black one just won't snap into place.  ERROR messages popping up everywhere.  Duh... yeah... I know it's not installed ... you don't have to keep telling me over and over and over and over and over and over again... stupid computer.... stupid printer.

Where's Slim?  He always claims he can do anything I can do ... only better.  Well come on big boy... get in here and fix this thing.  Oh yeah... that's right... it's "your printer and computer" ... "you can fix it".

He just won't admit he's computer illiterate ... and any other kind of techno gadget. 

Dang... I'm ready to call my pc guy and pay a $75 service call to install this stupid cartridge!!!!!

I need to call Staci and ask her to come over and save her mother from the looney bin!   She'll enjoy this ~ about as much as her father will enjoy it ~ and I know it'll just snap right in and show me once again it's operator error...  stupid printer... stupid computer.

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Friday

berry pickin'~


We went blueberry and raspberry picking yesterday at Nelson's Berry Farm.  It's nice picking there.  The fields are very well maintained.  Only problem was... the highland blueberries weren't high enough... you had to stoop to pick them.  I got such a crook in my back and neck that I just ended up crawling down the row on my hands and knees.  That too wasn't a very easy thing to do... not having any knee caps is a bit of a hinderance; but it rained the night before and the grass was still pretty wet.  I was soaking wet by time we left the field.  Good thing I bought along a change of clothes.

We picked 20 quarts of blueberries and 10 quarts of raspberries.  Now it's jelly and jam time again.  Today, I made a mixed berry jam of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.  I also made a batch of strawberry rhubarb jam and tomorrow it's blueberry jam.  Day before yesterday I made a batch of raspberry jam and another double batch of caramel apple jam.  My cupboards are full of jars waiting for labels and waiting to get delivered to their destinations.  I also promised Dear Hubby some kind of dessert made out of berries too ~ maybe I'll whip up a pie or two. 

It's been a busy time around here and I apologize for not keeping up with my blogging and visiting other peoples blogs; which I love doing.  Sometimes it's just so hard to find a minute; but I do enjoy your visits and LOVE it when you leave me a comment. 

Take care and God Bless 

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Wednesday

storm~

Last night around 7:00 p.m. a horrific storm came through just dumping a ton of wind and water on us.  But ... we were the lucky ones.  To the north of us about 20 miles up by the Turtle Flambeau Flowage ~ they weren't as fortunate.  These are some photos that I snapped off today of my Aunt's place and the homes of some of our good friends, Donner's Bay Resort, The Fort and some of the surrounding areas.

It was pretty scary driving in .... knowing that my Aunt's place was somewhere behind those trees.  But we knew she was okay after talking with her on the phone last night.

The guys spent the better part of the day doing some clean up work.

It's a mess up there and the casualties were small considering the area that was damaged.  It's just so sad to witness this.





I have more photos but that's all for now.... it's just too sad.  

A lot of people have damage to there homes and there is a lot of damage to the land ~ all  that can be repaired.  No lives were lost (that we heard of); but there were some serious injuries such as two broken legs and  pelvis of my daughters boss and his wife having a heart attack while they were out camping on one of the islands ... a lost dog; which was found today ...  some missing boats and broken boats... some lucky friends who's car was smashed by a falling tree sparing their lives by inches.

EVERYONE is in my prayers for quick recovery from this horrible storm.

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Saturday

government wants your bmi~

Better get your body in shape ~ because you have until 2014 to get it there!  Check out the article:

http://www.huliq.com/10017/government-wants-your-individual-obesity-rating-2014

Are they serious!  Of all the things that our government could be spending money on ... now they feel the need to monitor our body mass index.  All I know... is they can take their big tape measure and shove it ... it's none of their business what my BMI or anybody's BMI is.  It's an invasion of  privacy.  What ever happened to  that confidentiality between doctors and patients?  Refusing funding to health care if they don't comply?? Sounds like a DICKtatorship to me.

Phew...

Had to get that off my chest.

Is someone trying to tell me something?  Yesterday, Dear Hubby comes home from work with a recipe for the Cabbage Soup Diet for me ... and a recipe for Scottish Shortbread for himself.  hmm....  If I'm gonna eat cabbage ~ he is too!! 

I don't know what it'll do for my BMI ~ but I do know what it'll do for my BM's.  I think I'll make up a big kettle of it and send it to My Presidium  ...  I know... I know... sometimes I just can't help myself.  What a bunch of cabbage heads!

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Friday

the hay mow swing~

As I was mowing the lawn this morning ... yes ... this morning ~ I was out there by 7:30 finishing up what I didn't do last night because the mosquitoes were so bad ... so I was out there this early morning because it's suppose to be in the 90's today and I didn't want to deal with the heat later on. 

Me and heat don't mix well. Okay... that came out wrong ... "the heat and I".

I always feel like a slab of bacon in a hot frying pan.  I told the loved ones if they see me flopping around on the ground outside, chances are it isn't a seizure or anything ... it just means one side is cooked and it's time to flip me over.

Any hoooooooooooooo ~

While riding around on the lawn mower ... the mind gets to wandering about.   The tire swing ~ hanging from the basswood tree started it.  It conjured up some great memories for me as a child swinging from the ropes and swings that we had hanging from trees and buildings as a kids.  One really cool swing that we had was the rope hanging in the barn's hayloft or haymow as it was often referred to.  It was suspended from the barn ceiling on a pulley system that was once used for a big hay fork that was used to put up loose hay in the mow. 

There were two places built in the barn for hay storage.  One was the upper loft and then there was the lower; where the walls were  supported by two support beams that consisted of heavy poles the width of the lower area.  These poles were about 9 feet off the ground... the upper loft floor was about 10 feet up ... going up to about 20 feet ... the height of the hay mow ceiling.  Also, out the back of the barn was a big hole cut out of the barn wall about 6 feet square ~ about 8 feet up off the ground where Dad would throw hay out for the cows in the winter months while there was hay in that section instead of having to climb down the ladder from the upper loft to throw it through the door.

Being raised on a farm ... and having a lot of time on our hands to figure things out for ourselves to make fun ... my brother Randy, cousin Brian, and my sister Colleen and I were pretty good at doing just that.  One day we were up in the barn swinging from pole to pole on the rope when Randy suggested we figure out a way to swing OUT the hole in the barn from the upper loft.  Mind you... we were just kids... foolish kids... full of ideas... foolish ideas... at that age when we knew it all!

AND... I don't know why ... but I was such a guppy!  My brother and cousin could talk me into trying anything ... at least once.

Also, it was summer time.  By this time of the year almost all of the hay from the previous season has been used for cow feed and the new crop hasn't been  put in yet.  The lower loft is empty once again ... meaning you had to be a little more courageous swinging on the rope between the poles because it was once again a 9 foot drop under you with little hay to cushion a fall.  There were still some bales of hay in the upper loft that had been piled to one side to make room for the new hay coming in.

Now Brian and Randy... put together on scheming up just the right angle to approach the hole in the barn wall.  Also, in there plan was just the "right place" to put your hands on the rope so you wouldn't hit them on the barn wall as you went swinging through the opening on the wall.  They had it all figured out... the mathematical geniuses that they were.   Now all they needed was someone to grab the rope... crawl up to the top of the stacked up bales on the upper loft to get a good swinging start ... and see if the plan worked.

Oh it worked okay ... but somewhere in the plan they forgot to tell me to scrunch up my legs so they wouldn't slam into the wall at 90 miles per hour to prevent me from swinging through the opening and making me lose my grip on the rope and propelling me back into the barn where I hit my head on the support pole on my way down to the hay-less floor. 

Oh those were the days! The Good Lord did watch over us!!!  How we ever survived some of the games we played ~ and if Mom and Dad only knew of some of the games we came up with!! 

~ and I wonder why I suffer with arthritis as an adult and have under gone six knee surgeries from knee caps that didn't develop right because I broke both of them (another story ... it didn't happen from the hay mow swing ... although that little incident could of been a contributing factor).

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Sunday

huge success~



Yesterday was Donner's Bay Resort's second annual pig roast and customer appreciation day, up on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage.  This is the resort that Slim's grandparents built; but is now under the ownership of Jordan (aka. Porky) and Rozanne Rhey.  They had wonderful weather for the event and a fantastic turnout. 

Besides being a customer appreciation day ~ it was also a fund raiser to purchase an AED Defibrillator ... and I'm happy to report enough funds were generated. After talking with Porky this morning, he said it's getting ordered Monday!  Let's pray they never need to use the defibrillator ~ but at least it is going to be available now if needed and it could save a life!!

Plus...

Another bonus yesterday... they raffled off a gas grill with accessories ~ and guess who won!!! 
JD delivered it this morning ~ in the rain ~ thanks JD!

 I'm so excited!!! And so is Sam ~ because I'm giving him my old grill.  The poor dilapidated thing.  He's going to put some new racks in, pressure wash it and fix it up ... he say's it's good enough for him ... seeing as how I won't part with the new one.

It was truly a great time.  Spending it with family and friends who I haven't seen in awhile and reminiscing about a lot of good times spent together.

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

Friday

eye candy ~ Today's Flowers

My flower beds right now are eye candy if you're into blooms ... like I am :)
The only problem is ... they're blooming too soon ~~ a month too soon ~~  everything will be done blooming by time of the wedding :(  
When the kids set their wedding date which is August 14th ... any normal year, that's when most of my perennials would be in bloom; but with this crazy climate change we're going through they all decided to kick in a month early.

ladybells
missouri primrose
purple joy of autumn sedum
 Even my neglected sedums in the hypertufa pots that I made are growing:

ellacombianum sedum
john creech sedum
I hope the rain comes and washes that bird poo off my mushroom for me. lol

 The lilies right now are gorgeous!

spider lily
red day lily
The ants like them too.
monte negro lily











































My apple trees are full of apples and even the blueberry bush that I tucked into the flower bed is putting on fruit:





patriot blueberry
Yes... my yard is eye candy ~ a month too soon.
johnny jump up
million bells
dianthus
bouganvilla
hydrangea
false sunflower
echinacea
purple astillbe / ostrich fern
oxeye daisy
patriot hosta blossom
moonbeam coreopsis
coral carpet sedum? or possibly murale sedum?
sexangular sedum?
jacob's ladder
All my flowers will be done by the wedding ... are you feeling my sadness??? bummer

elderberry

nastursium







Hopefully ~ my little piece of swamp moss that I took off a rock down in the woods and planted into an old cream seperator bowl with some cockscombs will still be green....









... As well as my little arbor vitae tree that I started from a seedling from the Arbor Day Foundation 2 years ago. 










I love perennial plants ~ put them in the ground and neglect them and they'll return every year.  I just wish I could control their blooming time.  BUT... since I have no control over the weather I'll enjoy them while I can.

It looks like it's going to be a plastic flower wedding. lol (just kidding Sara!)

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel