Where have I been…

“Where, oh where, oh where have I been?  Why did I leave you here alone?” HeeHaw, circa 1971-ish

I’ve been absent, AWOL, vamoosed, yada, yada.  I’ve been around but just haven’t had much to say here and not much time to say the little bit I do have.  I keep telling myself, I’m going to keep up with this blogging thing better, and then I get behind again.  I’ve released the guilt and just blog when the mood strikes and honestly, I kind of like it that way.

Lately, I’ve spent a bit of time with the grands.  Gosh, who knew you could love children other than your own kids so much.  We get such a kick out of this little one.  Yeah, she can be a stinker, but what a funny kid!

We’ve taken a couple of rides, enjoying the bit cooler weather we’ve had now.  That hundred degree junk we had this summer can stay down south and out of the Midwest.  Yuck!
Sunday night, we found a road that we hadn’t been on before.  We thought we had ridden everything around here.  I just love a tree canopied road.

The soybeans are dropping their leaves and the combines are starting to roll.

The corn is turning as well.

We love this place about 30 miles from us.  They sell mainly produce and cheeses and have samples galore!  Now, that’s what I’m saying!

On the way home, we took a spin through a local park.

There have been many a picture taken in front of this waterfall over the years.  I can remember as a child climbing up the steps alongside of it.

Such beauty right  in our backyard so to speak.  We forget and take it for granted.

Summer Catch-up–Part 3

Helmetcam or Scenes from the road

We haven’t ridden as much as we typically do or would have liked.  It’s just been too darned hot.  When it’s 100 degrees and it feels like you’re riding into a blow torch, it ceases to be enjoyable for us.

That being said though, we have gotten out a few times, so here are a few scenes from around the area during the last couple of months.

Notice all the sunset pics?  Since it’s been so hot, when we did ride, we would go out in the evenings when it was cooler.  I am more than ready for Fall and the cooler temps it brings (but not so much the yuck that comes after it). 

It’s Hodge Podge Time!

I don’t play along often enough with Joyce’s Hodge Podge so thought it was about time again.

Joyce’s questions for this week…

1. I included this quote (attributed to William H. Danforth) in my blog post yesterday... "The best cure for a sluggish mind is to disturb it's routine." When was the last time you 'disturbed your routine' and how'd you do it? 
My mind was stretched big time when I started my new job at the church in April.   Love the job but learning new things has been a source of frustration some days but I’m gaining on it!

2. What's your favorite fried food indulgence?
I can only pick one favorite?? 
So.not.fair…so I’ll cheat and pick two.   Onions rings with the smooth batter, not the crumbly kind (no specifics here, huh?) & sweet potato fries. sliced horizontally, not lengthwise (again, not specific at all)

3. Did you have an allowance as a kid? What did you do with it? Do you give your own kids an allowance?
You know, I honestly don’t remember if I got an allowance or not.  I think we tried the allowance thing with the kids but they had to do chores to receive it.  Again, honestly I don’t remember how that worked out.

4. What's something you wish you knew more about?
Gourmet cooking.  I’m a down home type cook but would love to learn more about cooking all fancy-like and how to present food better.

5. Is there anything you feel too old to do anymore? If so, what?
Rollerskate!  I used to love it as a child and teenager.  Now, I can’t help but think that if I would fall now, it would take so much longer to stop hurting from that fall.  

6. What's a song you think has a great first line?
How about the first verse instead of line?
The beginning of the Casting Crowns song “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” convicts me every time I hear it.

^{Jesus Friend of sinners we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus friend of sinners the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus friend of sinners break our hearts for what breaks yours}

7. Who are you writing to/for when you create a blog post? In other words...as you write, who is the audience in your head? 
I don’t really think much about who I’m writing to.  I started blogging as a creative release and to learn web design better(have failed miserably at the web design part) and the friends I’ve met along the way have been an unexpected bonus.  I really blog more for a record of my life.  Someday when I’m gone, I want my kids and grandkids to be able to look at what I wrote over these last few years and see my heart.  That is, if I ever get them all printed off and in book format. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Sometimes confidences are hard to keep.   I’m a verbal processer.  As I talk about things, I process it through and feel better about whatever the situation is.    I always keep them though as I have been on the receiving end of those who I thought I could trust but they told others.   It wasn’t a fun place to be.

Stop over at Joyce’s blog and see what others answered to her questions!

Summer Catch-up–Part 2

The Grandkids

We’ve been able to spend some time with the grandkids this summer.  They are just so stinkin’ much fun.

They gave Grandpa a work out one night.  He ran them around the yard in the wheelbarrow. 

Little Miss E wanted nothing to do with the wheelbarrow but was more than happy to toddle around the driveway and watch.

In July, we had the first annual “Miller Camp.”  A friend and her granddaughters also joined us.  Our kids grew up camping together so it was fun to see the grands doing the same thing.

We made a fire, made smores and my friend, Vicky read “campfire stories”. 

The kids had a blast playing together and I’m pleased to say everyone made it through the night in their respective tents.  No one got scared at all.  However, Miss E was not even attempted with the whole campout deal.  Grandpa stayed in with her as she slept in her bed in the house. (No complaints from Grandpa with not having to sleep on the ground). Maybe next year she’ll be old enough to give it a whirl.

Breakfast the next morning was fruit and homemade cinnamon rolls.  That was a hit!

Our friends left after breakfast and we got to spend another whole day together.  We were going to go on a scavenger hunt at a nearby park but it was too hot so we stuck close to home instead.  We made can koozies, painted and

made tye-dyed shirts.  (Notice Miss A’s shirt in the picture below).  Next time we’ll use a bit more dye though.  Live and learn, I guess.  It’s been many years since I tye-dyed at 4-H camp.

The kids stayed one more night with us.   We made a tent in the living room and had a campout inside instead the second night.

A fun weekend was had by all and a wonderful by-product was it gave Mom & Dad some much needed time alone as well!

Summer Catch Up–Part 1

I’m a bad blogger, a very bad blogger.  June 17th was my last post.  Yowzers!  How does time slip away like that?  Hello, is there anyone even left out there to answer that?  If you are, you deserve a medal to have hung out this long without a post! 

I’ll try and catch you up a bit on the last couple of months.  We left for vaca shortly after the last post.  We headed from Illinois to Alabama via Arkansas. Doesn’t everyone do that? 

We delivered a disk to Arkansas.  Shhh - we were a bit over-width with our load so we took all 2-lane highways between home and our mid-Arkansas destination.  Can you say 14 hours of “bliss”?  Not exactly, but the hauling job paid for our vacation so it was very worth it and we did get to see a lot of countryside you don’t get to see on the super-slabs.  Also, notice the motorcycle in the back of the truck.  It got to come out and play in Alabama. 

Our riding companions, son Joe and daughter-in-law, Kristin met up with us in Alabama.  For some reason they didn’t want to ride along to Arkansas.  I just didn’t understand that.

While in Bama, we helped friends “dump chickens”.  Quite literally.  Baby chicks come in on those white flats and get dumped out into the chicken house to grow for 6 weeks and then move on to market.
There were 30,000 chicks in the load that came in while we were there.

Did you notice you don’t see me in the pictures dumping chickens?  I manned the camera.  Lori does.not.do.birds! no matter how cute some people think they are.  [shudder]

This was somewhat of an agricultural vacation  for us.  We delivered machinery, dumped chickens and stopped by Stephanie & Lance Miller’s farm to see how cotton and peanuts are grown. I’ve followed Stephanie’s blog for a couple of years now.  It was so nice to finally meet Stephanie face to face

and see how farming is done in Alabama.  Thanks to the “other Millers” for taking time out of their day to show us around.
The cotton pickerPeanuts
We also spent a couple of hours in the Little River Canyon area in East Alabama.  So pretty. A drive I would highly recommend.

We even took a few minutes to cool off our “boot feet” in the river.  So refreshing after riding all day in 100 degree heat.
We visited Slick Lizard.  Unfortunately, the Smokehouse has been closed for a couple of years.  The sign is still funny though – “Fill your gizzard at Slick Lizard.”

And no trip south is complete without some good ole southern home cooking.  Our friend Jerimy, makes the best smoked chicken ever!

More summer to come….