My Last Post

before I am sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun! I really need to go wireless so I can keep up with all of you while I'm gone but I haven't taken that "computer" step yet so I'm going to spend a week of quality time without my computer (gasp, gasp) with my children and husband. Ok, I can at least Twitter from my phone, so if you want to keep up with us just check the side bar. The boys are so excited that it's finally time to go! They will be home from preschool in about an hour and then we have to show Papaw and Mammie how to take care of all the critters while we are gone. They will be staying here (their own little vacation) while we are away. They have promised not to throw any wild parties!

I will take lots and lots of pictures so don't forget about me, I'll be back next week to tell you all about our trip!

Crazy 8's

Stephanie at The Life of a Farmer's Wife tagged me to do this!

The Rules:

• Mention the person who tagged me.
• Complete the list of 8's.
• Tag 8 bloggers, and let them know they've been tagged.

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Our vacation to the beach (we leave Saturday!)
2. Seeing the boys eyes light up the first time they see the ocean.
3. TSMG Get Away in August!!!
4. Jake pulling his first tooth (it's loose and he is so excited!)
5. Finally finishing my training at work and getting set up to work from home.
6. Fresh veggies from the garden.
7. The cheeseball I'm making to take to work tomorrow (sort of works against those 10 lbs. I wish I could lose!)
8. Giving Oakie a big ole hug!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Took Jake to the ENT doctor.
2. Went to Walmart.
3. Ate at Sonic.
4. Bought new clothes for vacation.
5. Started packing.
6. Talked to my sister on the phone.
7. Mowed the yard.
8. Ate some ripe cherries off the cherry trees.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Lose 10 pounds in 2 days (we are going to Florida)
2. Get really tan in 2 days.
3. Stick to an exercise routine.
4. Sing (I can't carry a tune in a 5 gallon bucket!)
5. Type faster.
6. Snap my fingers and have the laundry done.
7. Take better photos.
8. Draw.
   

8 Shows I watch:

1. UFC
2. Biggest Loser
3. The Doctors
4. Days of Our Lives
5. Local news
6. Medium
7. CSI
8. American Idol

8 Favorite Fruits:

1. Strawberries.
2. Grapes.
3. Bananas.
4. Pineapple.
5. Watermelon.
6. Cantelope.
7. Peaches.
8. Plums.

8 Places I'd Like to Travel:

1. Australia.
2. New Zealand.
3. Hawaii (been there 1 time, would love to go back)
4. New Mexico
5. Canada
6. Disney World
7. Yellowstone National Park
8. Florida Keys

8 Places I've Lived:

1. Kentucky
2. Tennessee
3. New Mexico (for 6 weeks)
4. Illinois
5. Apartment
6. Trailer.
7. House.
8. Log home.
   

8 People I've Tagged:

1. Jessica at Country Whispers
   
2. Mary at Mary's Blog
3. Jamie at My Last Baby
4. Chicken Momma at Hen House Diaries
5. Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails
6. Cindy at The Ramblings of Chippewa Creek.
7. Michelle at Table for Nine
8. Glenda at Manitoba Musings
   

My Baby Boy

J, my oldest son is my photogenic child. He has always posed for the camera, sometimes to the point that I have had to beg him to tone it down a bit. Pics of him always turn out good, he has the perfect smile, eyes always open and so on. L, my other son, hated the camera until he was 2 years old and would scream his head off if he saw me point it at him. I have SD cards full of pics of him screaming, crying, with his eyes closed, rolled to the side, blurred, what I am trying to say is that when I get a good pic of him I am ecstatic and want to share it with the world, even if it does have a little pizza and watermelon involved. The boys were eating watermelon on the back deck after having pizza this afternoon and the light seemed to make their eyes look so bright blue....that means I run for the camera. I can always tell when I will get good pics by the way their eyes reflect the light. This time, for some odd reason, I got about a hundred pics of J that turned out blurred and closed-eyed, but I got these of my "hard to get a good pic of" little man.

The first two are straight out of the camera...no editing, just a white frame added (keep in mind I'm not all that great at photography but I know when I get a pic of my boys that will be placed in a frame and hung on the wall or sat on a side table for me to glance at when they are gone to school or away at Papaw and Mammie's or down for a nap. I love those pics that make their faces look so sweet, innocent and kissable. Please look past the pizza sauce/watermelon and the scratched up nose (that came from a "brother-on-brother" wrestling match from the night before.

Those eyes......I fear that those eyes will cause me nights of lying awake in bed thinking of ways to keep all the girls away! He's mine gals, at least for a little longer!
I did some edge darkening on this last one.
So I will enjoy these for a year or so because it might be that long before he lets me get another good pic of him!

What I Should Be Doing

and what I am doing are 2 different things this morning. I should be packing. We leave for Florida Saturday morning for our first official, more-than-a-day-away vacation with the boys. They are so excited to be going to the beach for the first time. I should be cleaning my house so it's nice and tidy while were away. I have to work Thursday and Friday and we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I should be making a list of things I need to pick up to take with us but instead I have been outside, with my camera, playing. I did at least pretend to pull some weeds from the onion row in the garden, that counts for something, right?

While pulling those weeds, something bright red caught my eye. The Bing cherries are starting to ripen, looks like lots of canning again this year despite the broken limbs from the ice storm back in January.

You can see the effects of that in this post....Ice Storm 09.

I continued my walk and found one of my Stella d'Ore lilies starting to bloom.

I love these creamy, buttery colored little lilies because they have such a long bloom cycle.









and then there are times when color just doesn't seem to go in a photo and this was one of those times.

This lily was originally a bright pink and no matter how hard I tried, the color just clashed with my eyes this morning so I tried this and found a soft, dreamy effect that made things just right.

I hope you enjoyed taking a walk with me, now who's coming over to help vacuum, pack bags, and figure out who that little bird is in my previous post??

Who Is This Visitor?

Now I consider myself pretty bird savvy. I have a bird book with numerous little tabs and scribbles inside with most of the pages marked off as "seen" but this little guy has me stumped.

I haven't gone all the way through my bird book yet but the I know I haven't seen him around here before. The blue throat is a new one on me. I knew someone had been visiting my new suet feeder that I got at the Amish Woodworking shop for Mother's day and today I caught the little nibbler.

Anyone know who my little visitor is? Could it be a female indigo bunting? I don't think they have the blue throat. I'm off to search the internet and my little bird book until I find out or someone tells me who this is. First person to correctly identify this little fellow wins one of my cookbooks!

Farm/Country Bloggers Unite

I am starting this thread to collect Farm/Country Blog addresses. I have a new blinkie at the bottom of the side bar that will lead to this post: Farm/Country Blogs. If you would like your blog added to this page, please post a link to it here or contact me through the contact link on that page. Make sure to list the name/link/and a brief description if you want one added. I'm always looking for a good country/farm blog to read.

I read/follow several farm and country blogs but want to make sure you don't mind if I add your blog to this page so if you want to be listed post those links!!

You can also grab this blinkie and add it to your blog if you like.

<a href="http://mycountryblogofthisandthat.blogspot.com/p/addicted-to-farm-blogs.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/jdjdraw/Blinkies/farmblgs.gif" /></a>

Also make sure to right click and save to your computer, then you can upload and use it on your blog.

Memorial Day

A time for remembrance. Please take the time to remember someone who has fought and defended our country. Whether they lost their lives defending our country or later passed on, they still gave a part of themselves that they should be remembered, recognized and thanked for.

In loving memory of:
D. C. Loveless
World War II Veteran
July 10, 1922 - October 9, 2008

Gary Hugh Loveless
Vietnam Veteran
March 18, 1949-September 8, 1990

Cinnamon Roll Icing

Don't you just hate it when you bake cinnamon rolls and there is never enough of that ooey, gooey, delicious icing? I mean if you buy the store bought you get one itty bitty container stuck in the end of the roll! I like enough icing that it drips off my fingers while I'm eating my cinnamon rolls. I know I'm bad but it's so good!

Here's a quick little recipe to whip up just to make sure everyone gets plenty of icing. When we have Christmas breakfast at my mom and dad's I always take a squeeze bottle full of this for the cinnamon rolls.

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened, not melted
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
Milk

Using a blender to cream the sugar, butter and vanilla together, then add milk to the consistence of cinnamon roll icing.

Wanna know why I posted this recipe today?

Here's why! First I made this...
Monkey Bread by Pastor Ryan on Pioneer Woman's Blog

While that was baking, I mixed up some cinnamon roll icing with a little help from the boys. I did cut the powdered sugar contents down a bit because there was already so much sugar in the monkey bread. I figured that way the diabetic coma would only last a week instead of a month!

And the results were this monkey bread

and then this monkey bread with cinnamon roll icing and I added a big cup of coffee....yummmmmmm!

I definitely need about 100 laps at the track now or at the very least a nap!

A Day in the Life of a Chicken Owner

I had an incubator full of guinea and hen eggs that started hatching on Friday. I had put the incubator in the bedroom to keep it away from the boys and so I wouldn't have to make a bunch of trips up and down the stairs (I know, I'm lazy!) My poor husband had to move to the couch Friday night because the peeping was so loud! The hen eggs finally finished hatching today and we had an excellent hatch rate of 22 out of 26. We lost 3 and I have one that has something wrong with his wing and leg on the right side and probably won't make it so we have 18 happy healthy little fuzzy babies.
After the babies hatched and had a little time to adjust to life outside the shell, I moved them into their temporary box to dry. Here they are in their first home.

After making sure they were all drinking and eating, we made the big move out to the brooder. This brooder has a large built in heater along the top but it's warm enough this time of year just to use a 100 watt bulb and let the chicks move to and from the heat source as they need it.

I just love fuzzy baby chicks and we have 2 black and 2 white and bunch of these little guys in this brood!

Here's the one month old chicks (making a mess!) from my first incubation. Messy little buggers.

Hey, who's in there??

None of the guinea eggs in the incubator have hatched yet. I'll give them a day or two more and see if we get anything.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the new babes!

Hot Pepper Jelly

Do I have any canners out there? I love to can and anything that can be canned, gets canned, around here. Ok, I draw the line at pig's feet but we don't have pigs (yet) so I don't have anything to worry about. This is a little recipe that I got from my cousin. She had some of this stuff mixed with cream cheese and served as a dip at a birthday party I attended. I said, I have to know where you go this stuff. She opened her cabinet, and lo and behold, there were about 30 little jelly jars full of hot pepper jelly, some red and some green! They were beautiful (and very Christmasy!) She said, "I made it! Want the recipe?" Well, heck yes, of course, I want the recipe! So, I now have a bunch of little green jelly jars full of goodness in my pantry. I didn't grow any red peppers last year so I didn't can any red jars, but that will change this year. Anyway, on to the recipe! And don't forget, it makes an awesome dip when mixed with cream cheese and served with Ritz cracker or (my favorite) Frito's!

It would also be so cute to tie a ribbon on a red jar and a green jar, stick them in a little basket and give them as a Christmas present with the recipe attached.

This recipe is not very "hot". You can adjust the jalapenos to your liking.

Hot Pepper Jelly
3/4 c. bell pepper (green or red, your choice)
1/4 c. jalapeno peppers
1 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
6 c. sugar
1 (4-oz) pkg. Certo
4 drops food coloring (green or red)

Very finely chop peppers (food processor works great for this). Mix peppers, sugar and vinegar in a large saucepan on medium/low heat. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. I usually very quickly skim some of the pepper peeling pieces from the top at this point. It makes the jelly prettier. Add Certo and food coloring. Stir until jelly starts to thicken. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal. Process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Bootsie and Her Bitties

Here's little Miss Bootsie and her brood of baby guineas. She hatched 6 of the 8 eggs that she sat on.

Here she is showing them how to eat their starter feed. They are 3 days old and I can tell that they have grown! They are such cute little boogers! They know it too, look how they pose for the camera.

We have 10 new chicks hatched from the eggs in the incubator and another 10 are trying to get out of their shells right now. The guinea eggs in the incubator still haven't started hatching.

Homemade Orange/Pineapple Sherbet

1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1 can crushed pineapple, drained (I prefer mine without the pineapple.)
1/2 cup sugar
1 (2-liter) bottle Orange Crush

Mix milk, pineapple, sugar and half of Orange Crush in a large bowl. Pour into 4-quart ice cream freezer and finish filling to the fill line with Orange Crush. Follow ice cream maker directions for making ice cream.

A Little Eye Candy

before I leave for work. I need to get the boys out of bed and dressed.

Clematis at my moms...

I have an incubator full of eggs due to hatch tomorrow. Bootsie's babies came at 27 days instead of 28, so I might have a surprise when I get home but probably not until tomorrow.

I hope you all have a great Thursday! I will check in with a recipe this afternoon.

My Country Farm Boys

We went to Papaw's house last night, and the guys who put out his crops each year had been working. In the field next to the house was this...

Little boys cannot resist tractors. The guy that drives it told them to come back today and he would take them for a ride. They got to ride in it last year and I didn't think I was ever going to get them out of it!

Jake said he couldn't really ride in the tractor anyway because he didn't have his boots on.

Luke was just happy to be at Papaw's, wearing his very favorite Grave Digger shirt, sitting on a gigantic tractor all at the same time!

A Busy Day

We have had a busy day today and I haven't been on the computer much but I did manage to take some pics this afternoon. I'll get them uploaded and posted in the morning.

Bootsie is the proud momma of 6 new baby guinea keets! They are so precious!! She got 6 babies out of 8 eggs. She's such a good little Momma!

Good night all!

Ok, so I stayed up just a bit longer and played with my pics so I'll share this one tonight.

Hello Beautiful Lady!

She's hiding her tiny baby in the woods right behind the house.

Cool and Easy Strawberry Pie

2/3 c. boiling water
1 (4-oz.) pkg. strawberry Jell-O
Ice cubes
1 (8 oz.) tub Cool Whip
1 c. chopped strawberries
1 graham cracker crust
1 c. fresh sliced strawberries

Stir boiling water into Jell-O. Mix in a large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 1 cup. Add gelatin, stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Add Cool Whip. Stir with wire whisk until well-blended. Stir in chopped strawberries. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes until very thick. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 6 hours. Top with sliced strawberries.

Let the Gray Hair Begin

The boys have worn out a battery powered 4-wheeler and as of yesterday morning were on the last legs of a battery powered Jeep and John Deere tractor. DH and I were so tired of hearing,
"Can you change my battery?"
"My battery is dead!"
"I'm stuck!"
"It won't go!"
and also the cry (the one where Luke just decides to cry loudly in frustration because his tractor is stuck and spinning in the wet grass) so we talked about it and decided that the boys needed....

THIS!


They have been riding for about 2 hours now and not a single scream or cry! Of course Jake already wants to get a little "too brave" and go faster but the 4-wheeler (quad, ATV) has a governor and a kill switch so it can only go as fast as we let it and we can kill the engine with a remote. Even with all this I might still get a few gray hairs. Are they really old enough for this already? J drives and L rides. They have their T-ball helmets on because I haven't had a chance to go get the 2 ATV helmets that my nephew Adam has outgrown. My babies are growing up!

Jake just keeps grinning and saying, "This real 4-wheeler is like a dream!" I think he's having a hard time believing it's really his!

Update on the Roosters

I am the proud (and legal) owner of Hickory, Dickory and Doc! If you don't know the back story on Hickory, Dickery and Doc, please read George's Gift. George came back to town this weekend and I still had not heard a word from him by yesterday afternoon so on our way to town we stopped. He came running up to the van apologizing for the roosters and saying that he would come and get them but he had no idea how to keep them over at his hut while he was gone. It didn't take much convincing for him to say, "Well if you want them that's great." George's roosters were an impulse buy, a "wanna be a farm boy" buy.

I realized something about George yesterday. He is a "question" man. I have only been around him for very short periods of time but yesterday evening, he and his wife walked over to see the roosters in their new home. (yes, they are still married - I was shocked to see her over at the hut grilling out - if you read the prior George story, then you know why I was shocked). By question man, I mean his conversations are made up entirely of questions to and about you. Is this a defense mechanism to avoid talking about himself? Is he nervous and just fills any tiny gap of silence with a question?

As my husband and I lay in bed last night, we jokingly made a list of the questions he asked...we went on and on thinking of more and more. (Keep in mind that they were only here for about 20 minutes - 30 at the most).

• Do you see a lot of deer here?
• Do you see a lot of wild turkey here?
• Do you see a lot of stray cats?
  
• Whose dog is that? (He's in my yard and he's tied up because the chickens were out and he asks whose dog it is - ummmm - mine maybe?)
• Why is he tied up?
  
• What type of 4-wheeler is that?
• Where did you get it?
  
• What type of chicks are those?
• Where did you get that brooder box?
• What have you got planted in your garden?
• Do guineas eat ticks?
• Why do hens not just set on a bunch of eggs?
• What does "broody" mean?
  
• Do country eggs taste better than store bought eggs?
  
• Is your hair longer?
• Have you met my wife?
• When are you leaving for vacation?
• Where are you going?
  
• Is your tractor 4-wheel drive?
• Where do you get fish for your pond?
• Is he (J) in school yet?
• Have you done a lot of work on your house since you moved here?
• Who killed that deer? (antlers hanging on the out building)
• What do chickens eat?
• Do you put them up at night?
• Have you lost any chickens to coyotes or raccoons?
  
• Are those sweet cherries or sour cherries on that fruit tree?
• Is there a lot of heart disease in this area?
• Is that diesel fuel in that big tank? (No, it's gas)
• How did you get it filled up?
• Is your house heated with propane?
  
• What kind of birds are those? (barn swallows)
  
• What kind of birds are those? (sparrows)
  
• Who are the Sizemore's?
• Who bought the house behind you?
• Where is your deer stand?
• Do you turkey hunt?

Those are just the ones that pop into my head as I type and I haven't even had a full cup of coffee yet. I'm sure I could think of many many more if I tried. They just spew forth from him as he talks. Each time he opens his mouth, it's another question. The first few times I met him, he seemed nosy and intrusive. I wasn't sure I liked George much but as I stood there last night trying to correctly answer each question he threw at me like I was in a presidential debate, I realized that I like George, he means no harm with is intense interrogation and I'm not even sure he remembers the answers. I think he's to busy thinking of his next question. From now on, in my world of country blogging, he will be know as "Curious George" oh and he asked me where he could buy peacocks!!! Looks like I may have peacocks in the future!

Another CookBook Give Away

Have you received yours yet, Jamie?


I will leave this one open a bit longer so more people have a chance to comment. I will close it Monday (May 18) morning at 8:00 and do a random number drawing then, so all you have to do to win my cookbook is...Go comment and tell me...

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation and why do you love it so much?

Only one comment per person please! Thank you!

Burrito Dish

6 meat burritos
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can Rotel diced chilies and tomatoes
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
Black olives (optional)
Sour cream

Layer burritos in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with onions and green peppers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cheddar cheese. Top with enchilada sauce. Bake for 15 minutes (20 if burritos are frozen). Remove from oven, top with Rotel, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Add black olives if desired. Return to oven, bake just long enough to melt cheese. Add sour cream when serving.

More of Doc!

Glenda, you asked for more pics of Doc so here you go! He is a crowing fool! He crows over and over and over all day long. George is supposed to be back in town tomorrow. I wonder if he'll come looking for his roosters?

He's letting me get a little bit closer but he keeps an eye on me.

Oh and here's an updated pic of the baby chicks! They are growing so fast. There's one little white/yellow runt in there, but she's hanging right in there with the big guys.

One out of 237!

There are days when I take a about a thousand photos and have 3 dozen good ones, so many I don't know which ones to blog about. Then, there are days when I take a million (not really but it's a bunch!) and get 1 shot that I like. One single photo that makes me say "Ooooo, I wanna play with that one!" This is my one photo from 237 shots taken yesterday afternoon. The clematis on the front lamp post finally bloomed so I had to get a pic of it.

This is the original with Pioneer Woman's Boost action ran on it.

This is the same photo with a Sheispretty Texture (the blues 2) applied. Check out her Sheispretty Deviant Art texture page. She is sharing some excellent textures.

and one more with the Antique 1 Sheispretty Texture.

I couldn't get the blending mode (overlay, soft light, etc.) to look right with these textures so all I did was applied the texture as a new layer and then reduced the opacity and touched up a few spots with my eraser that I wanted to show a little better until I had the photos just way I wanted them.
I love hearing your opinions on which you like best, so please let me know!

Dreamsickle Fudge

My lovely SIL Tammy makes this fudge at Christmas and it is delicious. Hi Ta'! If your reading this, I need some dreamsickle fudge, please! It's a long time 'til Christmas.

3 c. sugar
3 sticks butter
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 pkg. white chocolate chips
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream
3 tsp. orange extract
5 drops red food coloring
12 drops yellow food coloring

Combine sugar, butter and whipping cream in large pan. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Mix in chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Stir until melted. Set 1 cup aside. Pour remaining mixture into 9 x 9-inch dish. To the 1 cup of mixture, add orange extract, red and yellow food coloring, stir well. Drop on top of plain mixture and swirl with butter knife giving it a marbled effect. Refrigerate. When hardened, cut and enjoy.

My Camera

I have had a few people ask me lately what camera I use. I have a Canon Powershot S5 IS. It's a top end point-and-shoot, DSLR-wanna-be. It has 3 lenses (besides the one that comes on the camera) that can be purchased separately: A teleconverter which I have (it lets you zoom WAY in.), a wide angle lens and a macro lens (several name brands of each are available for the S5. I would love to have a DSLR but I want the video capability of the S5 for T-ball games, basketball games, vacation, etc. We have a video camera but it's easier just to throw in a large memory card (8 or 16 GB) and catch those special moments without the hassle of mini-tapes and two camera bags. There was a time when I always shot on Auto but have found that shooting on P with my ISO at 80 has given me much better photos with less noise and more bokeh. I love bokeh, especially in the pics of my boys and the close ups of flowers. It also has an excellent zoom and Super macro setting. So that's my camera. If you have any questions, please ask.

George's "Gift"

Have I told you about George? I don't think I have so let me give you a little background on our neighbor. George is an "every 3 weeks and always during deer season" neighbor. George lives in Tennessee and owns a hair salon. He's tall and goofy and looks a lot like Jeffrey Goldblum. He bought the 70 acres of land next to ours and he wants to be a country boy so bad! He is married or at least he was when he bought the land. I haven't seen his wife since that first time he came over and introduced himself. He did spend Christmas and Valentine's Day alone in what has become known as "George's hut" so I really wonder if his marital status has changed. Anyway, the hut is one of those little pre-constructed building with tiny windows and a tiny front porch. He drives 5 hours about every 3rd weekend to look at his land, fire up the generator, spend the night in his hut and then go back to Tennessee. He stays for a full 14 days during deer season and hunts from morning til night. Last year, he sliced his hand open with his knife and my husband (a nurse practitioner) had to patch him up with one of those "new skin" healing patches that we keep around here in case the boys get cut. Weekend before last, he was here and after he left, I heard roosters crowing! Roosters?? Surely not! The next day, there was a new rooster in my driveway.....We have since named him Hickory....

He wandered around the farm for a day and decided that my chicken coop with my chickens would be the perfect place to roost. The next morning, I see Dickory coming down the driveway....

I start to wonder if our other neighbor got chickens because surely George didn't bring 2 roosters and leave them on his "farm". No, he didn't bring 2, he brought 3! The 3rd day I look out and see Doc....
(who I think is absolutely beautiful!)
All three of these guys are camping out with my hens, rooster and guineas at night and have made themselves right at home. They are still a little wiley but are getting more used to us each day and come running to eat with our chickens now.

I stopped and asked my other neighbor about the roosters yesterday to make absolutely sure they were not hers and she rolled her eyes and said, "George bought them from the Amish when he went to get corn for his deer feeders."

Apparently, he said it was worth the $3 each to watch the Amish kids chase them down. He was told if he poured out corn for them they would stay wherever he left them. My neighbor said he poured out corn and then dumped the roosters out of a grass sack, and being scared, they ran like crazy. He couldn't find any of them before he left. Now, if you knew George this would be hilarious. I can see him frantically searching for his run away roosters.

He is supposed to come "home" to this hut this weekend so I'm sure he will come looking for his roosters. I'm just not sure I want to give them back! I've gotten rather attached to Hickory, Dickory and Doc!

Chocolate Ding-Dong Cake

This is a totally-awesome-bad-for-you-watch-your-hips-spread-with each-bite cake.

2 boxes Devil's Food cake mix
1 c. powdered sugar
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip
2 containers Sour Cream Chocolate (or) Milk Chocolate Homestyle Icing

Mix boxes of Devil's Food cake mix as on box. Will make 3 layers. Cool completely. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and tub of Cool Whip together in a bowl. Spread between cake layers. Put chocolate icing on top and sides of cake.

Amish Shopping

When my husband asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, I said "Go shopping!" He said "Where?" I said, "The Amish." So that's what we did today. We stopped by the feed mill first to pick up some chicken feed then we went to the Greenhouse and Bakery....

Apparently I wasn't the only one who wanted to go shopping here. The parking lot has cleared a lot in this pic but it as pretty busy.

I picked out a couple of grapevines, a black raspberry bush and a red raspberry bush. I also got 2 deck railing planter boxes. This is the same greenhouse I bought my fruit trees from earlier in the spring. Then we went to the bakery and just opening the door was enough to make me gain 10 pounds. It smelled so wonderful! I didn't carry my camera inside but there was a table about 10 feet long covered in pies and cakes and donuts, yummmmmmm! I let the boys pick what we would get and we ended up with these...

They were huge!

and delicious!!!!! (that's my Honey without a shave - hey it's the weekend!)

J said they were, "Tasty!" His new word for the day. I ate one too, but no, there's no picture!

We decided to drive for awhile and stop at a few of the shops. We ended up at another greenhouse and I got a beautiful hanging basket of petunias (photo tomorrow, I promise!) and then at the rustic log furniture store I bought a bird feeder and I might just call back and have a custom rustic log bed made for our bedroom. It would look perfect in our log home and the price can't be beat!

I would have loved to take pics of the Amish men and women working or even the adorable little barefoot Amish boy sitting on top of a generator but we (visitors, patrons, customers, whatever we are) are not allowed to take photos of their faces or to have them pose for pictures. They feel that it is showing self pride and vanity to have one's photo taken. So instead of people, I snapped a few other things like Amish Britches hung out to dry in front of the outhouse!

and Amish buggies...

Then we drove on and saw this nice little lady lying in a field of flowers chewing her cud!

It was an absolutely beautiful day and I got lots of goodies! I also found a beautiful cedar trunk that would have followed me home if I hadn't already loaded the back of the van down with chicken feed, dog food, 3 huge hanging baskets of petunia (one for me, one for mom, and one for my grandmother) and vines. I have a birthday in June. I'm trying to decide if I want the trunk or a new camera (or both - hey I'm working now, right??)