get together~

We went to another graduation party yesterday ... in the rain... again... 

It doesn't matter the weather though... it was so nice to see some of my nieces and nephews that I haven't seen in awhile and to see the next generation of cousins together.

A cluster of cousins :)

my great niece, Jenna Rae ~ the graduate... and her Great Grandma ~ my Mom

Notice the guy in the background?  That's my Dear Hubby, Slim ... and we wonder where our son Sam gets the "Where's Waldo?" from. lol

This is Lacey ... the pound hound ... she was rescued by my niece Jessie and has proven to be a very good dog:

She sure did endure a LOT of loving from the little ones ...  and I do mean ENDURED...  they just couldn't quit with the hugs and love.

When we got home last night there was a little surprise sitting on the edge of the lawn... six baby cottontail rabbits ~ they must have come out to play a little bit after the rain let up:

~~
Also, look at what else we have in the woods by us:

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

feelin' scrappy~

It's raining cats and dogs out there ...
Can't do any yard work ...
I could do some housework ...
But I'd rather play around and do some scrapwork ...

This is my Great Niece, Summer ~ she is also one of my sister Cheryl's Grand Loves:

This is my daughter Sara and her fiancee Don ~ the one's getting married in August in our back yard:

The character peeking out from behind them is my son Sam.  I could have taken him out of the picture; but he's like our "Where's Waldo?" of the family and I just didn't have the heart to cut him out.  Sara will understand ... Don on the other hand???  Welcome to this whacky family!


I baked!  A homemade from scratch Buttermilk Chocolate Cake with a can of cheaters frosting, Betty's coconut pecan ~  sorry the pictures a little blurry...

I was drooling and holding the camera at the same time and taking the picture wasn't an easy task. lol  But I thought you'd enjoy seeing it Jack and Shirley ... especially you Jack.  I even wrote down the recipe as I was making it just in case you want to go out and get the ingredients and surprise Shirley with a cake.








Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease up a 9x13 cake pan.
In a pretty good sized bowl mix together: 

2 cups of sugar
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Then add the wet ingredients:
1 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pour it into the cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. COOL>> FROST AND ENJOY!!

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

better disposition~

I'm feeling better today ... now that I got the "whack the fairies" out of my system from yesterday. lol

I did manage though to tick off a momma and daddy robin so I could get these pictures of their young ones still crammed in the nest.

They have a perfect nesting spot ... right under the eaves of the wood shed.

They're sitting high and dry ... only problem is ~ they are in the way of us piling wood there.  We'll just have to wait them out a few more days until they are big enough to fly the coop.

~~
I have trying for a few years now to grow lupines from seed ~ and finally... they are grabbing hold.

Apparently, they take a few years to become established and don't put out blossoms until the second year.  Next year I should have a ton of them blooming.  I have hundreds of plants popping up now along my driveway from seeds I put in this spring.  I can't wait for that flower show!

~~
My peonies are starting to bloom ~

They are so fragrant!  Love 'em!!

In fact ... I don't think there's many flowers out there that I don't love. 

LOVE THEM LOVE THEM LOVE THEM

ALL OF GOD'S CREATIONS!!!

~~
Sam put the trail camera out to see what's got the dog all upset:

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