Blue Hibiscus

Big White Farm House

2010-02-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

I drove into town to see the building that had burned and took my camera. I ended up driving around getting shots of the countryside.
Here is a big farmhouse.
I'd love to live in a little farmhouse with a big barn and lots of land.
I'd have animals and gardens and feed the birds. I'd even start doing the bird count again.
Maybe one day.

Beach Wedding Postcard

2010-01-04T09:27:00.003-05:00

A new "save-the-date" card available at "Sandpiper Wedding". I use photographs of my own seashell collection to create my cards and other items, which make these cards very unique. Customize the back with wedding information and easily add your engagement photo to the front.

Please Visit my New England Blog

2009-06-08T05:29:00.002-04:00

I have begun a new blog about my area of New England and included lots of photos of the area of New Hampshire where I live. Please check it out...@ New England's Narrow Road It's just getting started but I hope to include links to other area bloggers and show off some of the crafters in my area. New England is and entrepreneurial place. In my little town alone we have sheep farmers who use the fleece to spin their own yarn to sell. One lady that I know of has angora rabbits for this purpose as well. We have sugar shacks where maple syrup is made in the Spring. My neighbor (and many other people in these parts) raise their own chickens for food and eggs. Another neighbor casts pewter sculptures in a little shed next to his house and sells them for a good amount of money. There is even a couple who raises sled dogs for racing. So I think I will always be able to find something interesting to write about, and I'll be taking lots of new pictures too. I have another blog started to sell my seashell photography too. To see what I've got going on there, please visit Seashells by Millhill. Thanks very much to my faithful followers.

I am getting fed up with this google blog.

2009-05-23T13:11:00.004-04:00

I haven't been blogging here too much lately and it's because it seems that I constantly have difficulties with this blog. I now cannot make a paragraph. No matter how hard I try and how many times I hit return.... For a few days I couldn't view my own blog. I got errors after I posted or changed something. Other people have tried to get here and the link was broken somehow although the link I made looked fine. I have a Wordpress blog that I love...it's new and not nearly as annoying. so that is most likely where I will be...and maybe I'll transfer this one over there too. I INVITE YOU TO COME VISIT ME THERE!

Seashells and Remembering Florida Beaches

2009-05-23T12:47:00.006-04:00

When I make items to sell in my Beachcombers store, I think of the beautiful Florida beaches. They are almost always over crowded and are probably even worse now, but they are gorgeous. I try to envision how nice it must have been to go to the Keys, or Daytona Beach back in the 60's before all the people invaded the state.

I moved there in 1979 and it was pretty nice then, but I didn't have any money to take trips, and I sure wish I had found a way to enjoy the state before it got so full of people. As time went on we did find ways to beat the madness and find quiet times on or near the water. One Thanksgiving we spent the day out on our pontoon boat and saw nobody! It was great traveling up and down the intracoastal - we had it to ourselves while people were at their relatives stuffing themselves with turkey. I had cooked our turkey the day before so we could have sandwiches out on the boat. When I make my seashell posters and mugs and things, I think of the gulf coast and how gorgeous the sunsets are there. I remember taking the kids down to the beach in the morning before everyone else was awake (my kids were always early risers) and watching the stingrays glide along just off shore. There is always plenty to do near the water even if it's just enjoying the view. I'm so glad I kept my shells.

Our Trip to Balancing Rock

2009-05-20T22:00:00.008-04:00

For years I've been hearing about balancing rock. It was suppose to be "up past the lake" and "out in the woods" and it was this "big rock balancing on top of a small one". All the locals knew about balancing rock and it seemed that most of them had trekked up to see it. My 11 year old son and I tried to find it numerous times, after getting faulty directions and once we came very close, but didn't walk far enough. Then the day came. It was overcast and cool and the neighbor boys were going to take a walk to Balancing Rock and invited us to go. At last I was going to see the famous landmark. We headed out the long dirt road and walked for about 20 minutes. The boys hit stones with sticks and talked about what they would do if they saw a bear. I took pictures.

At last we came to a clearing with two small houses...now this was a 20 minute walk out into the middle of nowhere! The boys told us it was the family camp and these people came out and stayed there to hunt and just hang out.

I guess it was just a place for them to go and get away from it all and grow flowers or vegetables in their bathtub in the front yard and no one would care. Just beyond the first house was this little sign and we up over a hill and down into the area where I got my first look at the famous balancing rock. I said, "This is it?"

It wasn't really what I expected...just a big rock (not an unusual thing in NH) and I didn't really see the thrill, but it was a nice walk.

Florida Hurricane Season

2009-05-11T16:55:00.002-04:00

Get ready Florida!! Yikes. In June- June 1st- Hurricane season begins and if you live in Florida, the Carolinas, Louisiana or Texas, you most likely pay close attention when one is spotted forming off the coast of Africa. Where will it go? That is the question and there is no answer for a week or so, depending on how fast the storm moves. Along the way weather updates will inform you of the suspected track and strength and the forecasters will try their best to determine what will happen far enough in advance to evacuate and warn residents. I always had a "hurricane box" ready for each season (the season lasts until November) and I had batteries, flashlights, tarp for any holes in the roof, extra water, a medical kit and things like that, so we would be somewhat ready for the damage. After seeing the damage of Hurricane Andrew to south Florida, I knew that if we ever got something like that in the central part of the state it would be a nightmare. In 2004 my area was hit with 3 hurricanes within 6 weeks. Charlie, Frances and Jeanne are names I will not forget soon. This postcard is a photo I took of Jeanne as she came on shore in the south and traveled up through the state and destroyed the eastern beaches on the way. Charlie was the most devastating and hit us first, so after that the wind from Frances and Jeanne was almost nothing. There was lots of damage. Many homes lost part of their roof, but my roof and windows were all fine. The trees were not. My big live Oaks were destroyed and the limbs covered the yard. It was hot (and that is an understatement) and the power was out for 7 days. We had a generator that ran the well so we could get water and run a couple of lights or fans. What I remember the most was the lack of gas, milk and ice. We needed gas to run the generator and got ice at the fire station where my son worked. I live in the northeast now and we never hear about hurricanes that are forming off the coast of Africa and even if we did, we wouldn't care. But my thoughts are with my friends in the south. I hope they all miss you this time.

Space Shuttle Launch

2009-05-11T07:36:00.007-04:00

Today the space shuttle Atlantis will blast into space for a dangerous mission. It's always dangerous to fly into space, but this time the astronauts will have to maneuver past obstacles to get to the Hubble telescope to do maintenance. It's one of the things I miss about living in central Florida. Watching a launch from my driveway! Living in Florida has it's advantages and one is the opportunity to see history made with each shuttle launch. It got me thinking about the infamous Challenger explosion and got me praying that this one will go well. At the time of the Challenger launch that was taking our first teacher, Christa McCauliffe, into space, I was living in a little house about 15 miles from the east coast of Florida and me and my family liked to watch the count down on television- just to make sure it went okay- and then run outside to the driveway or road and watch for the Shuttle to appear above the treeline as a bright, glowing ball of fire. We'd watch it go up and up leaving a fat contrail and if the weather was clear, we could see the rocket boosters drop off. How cool!! But the next part was even more fun. Once the shuttle was out of sight, we could hear the rumble approaching. It took a good 5 minutes I'd say until that ground shaking reached my home and rattled my windows, but it was the most exciting part I think! In January 1986, my 3 year old and I kept waiting for word that Challenger was going, but NASA kept announcing delays as I recall, so I had to leave and head to the grocery store. After all, maybe it wouldn't go up that day because of the cold and I had errands to run. After grocery shopping at the local Winn Dixie in Deltona, I remember walking out into the parking lot and people were standing together near their cars listening to the radios and many were trying to look to the sky (there was not a clear view to the East from that parking lot) and someone told me that the Shuttle had exploded. I threw my groceries into the car and turned on my own radio and headed home listening to the horrible news. I'll never forget driving down Doyle Road toward home and seeing the lines of smoke criss-crossing crazily all over the sky and knowing that something had gone horribly wrong. Anyone who regularly watch a lift off would have known that this sight in the sky was not right. It was a very sad day and I felt especially bad for the kids in NH who were eagerly watching their teacher, Christa McCauliffe, head off into space. Now I live in New Hampshire and next week I will accompany my 5th grader on a field trip to the planetarium in Concord, NH which was named for Christa McCauliffe. Years after the explosion, I was able to go to Cape Canaveral and see a launch up close that was so spectacular and breathtaking. Shuttle launches are not advertised and spoken of as much up here in the northeastern US, and I miss the coverage and watching the countdown and of course watching the launches with my kids. Go here for more info and watch the up to the minute countdown: Kennedy Space Center Countdown to Launch

Al the Iguana

2009-04-30T20:55:00.003-04:00

I recently stayed with my sister while she was laid up after having foot surgery. I walked her dog, fed her 2 cats and sprayed her Iguana, Al with water. She has had Al for many years, from the time he was small enough to fit in her hand. He's now about 3 feet long and spends his days in a large wire cage on a rock with a heat lamp over his head. I fed him chopped fancy lettuce (iceberg is a no-no) and fruit and sprayed him many times during the day from a water bottle...mostly becuase he just loves it. Once he feels the cool water he lifts his head and closes his eyes and sits perfectly still just soaking it up. My sister said it helps his skin shed. I thought I'd get a few photos.

He doesn't eat if you are watching, but he didn't seem to mind the camera.

Will You Have A New Address This Summer?

2009-04-13T10:11:00.006-04:00

Send out a pretty postcard to announce your new address. It's easy to fill in your new information on the back of this card and save money when you buy in bulk. The shells were collected by me when I vacationed on the Gulf of Mexico on Sanibel Island many years ago. Some of them, the larger ones, I bought at a shell store but Sanibel and that area is known for it's seashells. In fact it is on the list of the top 3 places to go shelling in the WORLD. The beach at Sanibel Island, on the west coast of Florida, is totally made up of shells. Depending on the weather and the time of year, the water is fairly calm and the beach is long- meaning you can walk way out before the water level rises over your head. It's a great place to take kids too. In the past 4 years I have moved 4 times and I am thankful, grateful, happy, and relieved that I am not planning a move again this year. If you are moving, I wish you the best of luck and don't forget to change your address with:

The post office (when you pick up the changed of address packet, you'll find a list)
Banks
Registry
Irs (they notify social security)
Insurance companies
Place of employment
Paypal
Online shopping addresses (make sure they don't send your order to the old place)

I might have missed some and your situation will be different than mine. I had to notify the nursing home where my mother was, and my old landlord to get my deposit returned.

Seashells by Millhill Beachcombers

It's that time of year. Blue Hibiscus: New Hampshire Maple Syrup

Winter Playtime

2009-03-19T09:49:00.005-04:00

After some warm days had melted the snow off the lake and made the surface of the ice nice and smooth for skating, my son begged me to take him to the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day, but very cold and I knew that the wind would be whipping at the lake...and I was right.

My child doesn't seem to mind the cold half as much as I do and after taking some photos I went and sat in the car and tried to figure out my soduko puzzles. I did think that these animal tracks - probably deer- that had been frozen into the top of the lake were pretty cool. We could see that they made a path all the way across the lake to the Girl Scout Camp side.

On a warmer day, when much of the snow had melted away, we walked down the street to see what was in the woods. We had just moved to this house in the Fall and hadn't really had a chance to check out the wooded areas all around us.

The big valley area full of tall trees and a little winter stream was pretty cool. My son had fun sliding on his belly down the steep hills. We found the tracks of a racoon and deer and something like a cat paw print, but I wasn't sure what that was. Since the snow was still well frozen we could walk on top and dig in just enough to get a grip to go up the hills.

We had a great time.

Waiting for Color

2009-03-08T10:18:00.004-04:00

There hasn't been too much to take photos of lately with everything covered in white snow. All photography comes out looking black and white in winter it seems. Now the melting begins and I really dislike the Spring in the northeast. Mud season is very muddy. In fact the road is more slippery in Spring than Winter. All winter logging trucks have been traveling our little back road and clearing what must be a huge area farther up the hill from me. Just before this thaw they brought all their equipment down off the hill and it's a good thing, because their trucks would be stuck for sure in the mud. Recently I was stuck behind one of their 18-wheelers that couldn't make it up the hill because of a recent snowfall. I sat for 20 minutes while the driver put chains on the wheels so he could move off to the side for me, and others, to pass. He had to have a tow up to the logging area that morning.

On This Day We Can All Be A Wee Bit Irish

2009-02-25T13:43:00.001-05:00

Mini Mountains

2009-02-09T19:43:00.007-05:00

I really don't know what to call these outcroppings but they look like mini-mountains that I never knew were there until the leaves were gone. In the Fall my son and a couple of his friends went walking through the woods and he came back and told me about these big mounds all over the place. He says there is one farther back that is taller than the trees. I haven't found it yet.

Before we got a lot of snow, my son and I climbed to the top of this one. This is a photo from the other side. Now that we have so much snow on the ground I don't dare try to get up it again. I'm not as young as I used to be!

I don't know if this damage is from the ice storm or if these trees were tipped over before that, but I did see a lot of broken and down trees on my walk through the Girl Scout Camp.

Oh ya, this place will be busy in the summer months, but for now it's the best place to walk or take the dog for a romp. Summer's coming!

Liquid Animals

2009-02-05T09:12:00.002-05:00

I know that probably everyone in the world can already do this, but I'm always excited when I learn to use something new on the computer...this is really cool!

Were You Really There????

2009-01-28T17:56:00.002-05:00

Check out this funny pin by cowboyannie: I love it!

Inauguration Exaggerations by cowboyannie Create full color buttons at Zazzle.com More United States Buttons

She also supports our Troops

My Valentine is in Iraq by cowboyannie
Tees from www.Zazzle.com
Browse other United States T-Shirts

Why is Winter So Hated?

2009-01-27T09:31:00.009-05:00

All winter long you hear it. Everywhere you go, over and over. References to the misery of winter. "I can handle this cold as long as it doesn't snow". "I'm ready for Spring" (this starts about October) "At least it's not snow". "This has been the worst winter". (They are ALL the worst!...according to these folks) And so on. I really get tired of hearing the complaints.

Winter is gray, and up here in the northeastern US we don't see much of the sun. These lake photos were taken at about 1pm on a gray, but warm (30 degree) day. It doesn't even rise high enough to come over the trees in my yard. It seems to just skirt the horizon and then it's gone...at 4pm in December. But winter is beautiful and I say, if it's going to be cold it should snow. Who wants to look at brown, dead grass. Give me lots of white and beautiful snow. Just about January the Bob houses (little ice fishing huts) begin to show up at the lake and once it's safe, out they go. 4-Wheelers, trucks and snowmobiles follow and some nice person clears a spot to ice skate.

The Girl Scout Camp is empty, but the caretaker plows the road for hikers and dog-walkers.

It's so beautiful. And tomorrow we are getting another foot or more! Whoo hoo!

Little Veggie Pot Pies

2009-01-18T08:22:00.003-05:00

Cut into bite size pieces any vegetables you choose. I don't measure so no measurements here... I used: 1 red potato (skin on), 1 sweet potato, celery, onion, carrots, frozen peas, mushrooms (canned) and garlic. 1 cup of chicken boullion 1 can of cream of celery soup spices: pepper, thyme, cumin and ? cook it all on the stove top for 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Add cornstarch mix (a little cold water mixed with a spoonful of cornstarch) to thicken the liquid a bit. Scoop vegetables into foil pans. Cut circles in pie dough (I buy mine) Crimp the edges and bake till bubbly- 30 minutes or so. I made this up, so improve on it and let me know if you found something good to add! Healthy and delicious and each one is just the right size for a meal for me!

Good-Bye Rolly

2009-01-12T13:13:00.006-05:00

Today I said good-bye to my faithful shadow of 16 years. He came from a Florida pound where he was named "Wimpy Willie". Probably because he made so much noise. My daughter wanted him, so we chose him, and she named him Rolly. He was small and really cute, but he turned out to be a handful. He didn't like to be brushed or messed with in any way and always had to have a tranquilizer and muzzle to go to the vet. Because he wouldn't let us put a collar on him to take him for walks, I got a little choker chain on him and just left it on and then I could just hook up his leash. He hated that too, but did like his walks. He snarled if I tried to brush him or clip his nails and he cost us more money than any dog I've ever had. He's had eye issues, bad teeth and horrible breath, a hernia and a tumor in his ear. He would never come when I called him and definitely had a mind of his own. He lived with 2 big Rottweilers for a while and I think he always thought that he was bigger than he was. The past couple of years have been hard on him with all the moving we've been forced to do and his health has gotten worse. It's very hard to lose a dog who has been a part of the family for so long, but I knew that he was uncomfortable and not very happy anymore. Although he slept a lot in his later years, I am surprised at how quiet and lonely the house is without my Rolly. I will remember him as the little bullet that ran so fast after his ball in the summer grass and the way he'd run to me with his crooked tail and tongue hanging out waiting for another throw. That's how I picture seeing him again...in Heaven. He, and all my dogs that have gone, will run to me through the tall green grass...tongues hanging out, tails wagging ~ wanting to play again.

Play With Me by pamdicar
Large format printing From zazzle.com
See other Dogs Posters

Boys in Snow

2009-01-11T13:15:00.006-05:00

It's turning out to be another snow filled winter here in the northeastern US.

Once I got through shoveling, I snapped some photos of my son and his friends and the neighbor dog. I can remember being burried by my friends as a kid, but it doesn't appeal to me now!

There are 3 kids in the above photo...

that's his head barely showing.

Bird Feeding in Winter

2009-01-11T06:48:00.008-05:00

If you have a little time and want to help the birds make it through a cold winter, (and save money!) it's easy to mix up a batch of healthy suet. **(These photos were taken by photographer...Walt Alder of wildthings's Gallery at Zazzle...I want to thank him for permission to use them! He has taken many beautiful wildlife photos which can be seen at his Zazzle store, "WildThings", link above, or click on the photos. ) Woodpeckers especially love suet and since the other birds eat sunflower seeds, peanuts and various seeds, and Woodpeckers like to eat bugs, which are pretty hard to come by in the depths of winter, I primarily gear my suet making to the needs of the Woodpecker. Buy beef fat at the local store or butcher shop. It's inexpensive and can be put in a mesh bag as it is to fee the birds, but I buy it to make a tasty treat. Chop the fat and melt it (chuncks will remain) and add left over bacon grease or other saved grease, if you have it. Here are some examples of what I add (and I never measure, just mix in whatever you have until it looks good). Remember that the suet will harden in the refrigerator. **After the fat and bacon grease (if you have it) are melted, stir in some peanut butter. A couple of big spoonfuls should be enough. **Now you should add something to hold it together, like bread, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, crackers, flour, etc. I save old bread, muffins, rolls, pancakes, and any baked goods and store them in baggies in the freezer, and use them for adding to my suet mix. (This is how to save money when cooking up a batch of suet. You'll also feel good about not being wasteful.) I like to throw in some old cereal, granola bars, raisins, popcorn or peanuts if I have them. Whatever the suet eating birds don't want will fall to the ground and be eaten by other birds or squirrels. I don't add seeds to my suet mix because I have plenty of other feeders for seeds and I want my suet to be just what it's suppose to be-tasty fat. See more and find links for buying and making your own feeders @ Make Your Own Suet and Feed the Birds!

Take This Poll and Vote For Your Favorite State

2009-01-06T13:16:00.003-05:00

Are you from New England? Maybe you just love the place or have happy memories of vacationing there. Do something fun and fast and go vote for your favorite New England state: http://www.squidoo.com/New-England-foliage-#module12539952 (Scroll down) Thanks!

Find Me at Squidoo

2009-01-05T14:19:00.005-05:00

I kept seeing this "Squidoo" word around a lot and talk of making "lenses" and even visited a few. But I am very unfamiliar with the workings of computers, although I have come a long way in the past year or so, so I passed when someone would tell me that I should "make a lens". Now I have jumped in and done it! And making a lens is far more simple than I imagined. Mine are not as fancy as some, but I intend to keep learning. As a matter of fact I have made 6 lenses since October this year! So I'd like to share them with you and have linked my Lensography of my Squidoo Lenses here. If you think you might want to give it a try I think you should. You'd be very surprised at the ideas that come to mind to write about. At the very least you should look around the place. I have discovered some very interesting lenses of all types. If you have Squidoo lenses yourself, please let me know in the comment section and I'll visit you on Squidoo! Thanks...Individually they are: Seashell Photography Unique Calendars & Art for 2009 Make Your Own Suet & Feed the Birds Fall Into Color What Can Yarn Do For You? Christmas Hopes, Thanksgiving and Peace

Blue Hibiscus: Individual Apple Pies & Recipe Variations

2009-01-02T13:19:00.002-05:00

Blue Hibiscus: Individual Apple Pies & Recipe Variations

Individual Apple Pies by pamdicar online post card printing from zazzle See more Events Holidays Greetings Postcards

Nightmare Before Christmas

2009-01-02T08:00:00.005-05:00

Our Nightmare Before Christmas Twas two weeks before Christmas and all through the town it rained and it froze and the trees all fell down. The wires that were strung on utility poles snapped like a twig and the houses all froze. We got ourselves nestled all snug in our bed while visions of warmer days danced in our head, and me in my thermals and Pa in his cap stayed huddled together for a bone chilling nap. The moon on the ice made a crystalline glow and we thought to ourselves, just how long can this go? When what to our wondering eyes did appear but our son with some coffee and donuts and cheer. We could see our white breath in the darkness above and deep under the covers I searched for my love. His feet, they were frozen and so was his head --- made me think to myself that he just might be dead. The days passed so slowly, we must be insane as we waited and wondered and called out by name "On Thursday, on Friday, on Saturday (oh shit!) on Sunday, on Monday, on Tuesday (please quit!) on Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday (oh dread!) the kerosene fumes must have gone to our head. To add to the pleasure of winter's delight two snowstorms came by - 28 inches of white. The snowing and blowing made things bad to worse and we prayed to the heavens our pipes wouldn't burst. Pa's eyes now were sunken, his expression --- not merry, his cheeks had a pallor, his nose like a cherry. The odd little smile on his face wasn't fun and he often was mumbling "go get me my gun". Then a rap on the door, and the fireman said, "Are you sick, are you sane, and is anyone dead? There's a shelter, there's warmth, you can come if you're able, we have showers and kindness and food on the table" --- and we looked at each other and thought --- "what the heck?" yeah ... eleven days later you FINALLY check! On night number twelve we heard the faint roar of a convoy of trucks and we ran to the door. To the top of the poles, to the stretch of the cable --- please bring us your power just as fast as you' re able! They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work and the power came on with a hum and a jerk. They heard us exclaim, as they drove out of sight --- MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! WE HAVE HEAT! WE HAVE LIGHT! (author unknown...but can tell they have been there, done that!!)

See my ice storm photos two posts down.

Peace

2008-12-28T07:55:00.004-05:00

New Hampshire Ice Storm Photos 2008

2008-12-24T08:49:00.004-05:00

I was without power for 8 days thanks to this stuff! It was 34 degrees....inside the house. This is my driveway which I couldn't get out of until the tops of the trees were chopped off and they popped back up a bit. That ice was heavy!

My back yard... This is all I managed to capture before my camera battery died. This ice stayed on the trees for 3 days.

The Ever-Changing Weather in New England

2008-12-11T13:37:00.008-05:00

There's a saying about the weather up here in the Northeast that goes:

"If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes."

Or something to that effect. This week has been the perfect example.

Monday: In my neck of the woods (southern NH), we woke up to 2 degrees with wind chills anywhere between -10 to -30. It never got above 14 degrees all day.

Tuesday: Pretty normal as I recall- (it was 2 days ago...heehee). Normal means 30 or so. My son built a snowman.

Wednesday: Rain and close to 60 degrees!!! It was more like a nasty summer day than the middle of December. The dirt road I live on was like a skating rink of mud and had to use the 4WD to get up the hill. The snowman was gone.

Thurday (today): Woke my son at 6am to get up for school, and turned on the tv to see that school was closed. There was no snow on the ground, but when I turned on the porch light I could see that the porch and my car were covered with a sheet of ice.

Throughout the rest of today and into tomorrow morning we are suppose to get lots more sleet and freezing rain where I am.

Then a nice weekend! Never a dull moment.

More New England Photos

Stocking Stuffer Ideas For Kids & Unusual Gifts For All

2008-12-09T09:55:00.007-05:00

I am doing some on-line shopping today and thought I'd share some of the cool and unusual gift items I've found. One of my favorite spots for picking up nifty little toys- especially for my hard to buy for 11 year old- is Office Playground. This place offers many options for all ages and price ranges. Their items are meant to be fun for the office, but many of the items they sell are just fun toys which are perfect for my son's Christmas stocking or just a little gift for under the tree.

The Flying toys section includes foam type dart launchers and bow and arrow sets; sling shots, disc shooters and even extra ammo.

Pin Art has always been a hit with kids, and the site has some unique wind up toys too.

The names of these little plastic guns are pretty funny. I like the "Cat A Pult" which shoots little plastic cats, "Chuck A Duck" that comes with Devil Ducks, and of course the "Nun Chuck" which shoots- yup- little plastic Nuns. These could be dangerous since the items they shoot are hard plastic, so I wouldn't recommend them for young kids.

How about some Nose Pencil Sharpeners for a favorite teacher? Actually this is pretty expensive at $49.99 for a box of 36, but you could save some for next year, or split them up for little gifts for many teachers or kids. I always found the Drip Clip to be an unusual gift for a teacher too.

Some favorites from years ago for my kids include; Slinky (they offer a Gold Slinky for $89.99), Kaleidoscopes, Whacky Whirler (my son was hooked on these a couple years ago. They are only 99 cents), Juggling Balls, Magnetic Toys, the Hand Bubbler, and Puzzles- such as the Rubik's Cube.

The Gumball Machine is a good way to get kids to save money each time they want a snack. I am against gum, but it can be filled with peanuts, which is a much better idea!

A 30-minute Hourglass Sand Timer is pretty and unique. This site has many of all prices and sizes. The little plastic 2 minute timers (come in a pack of 3 for $6.99) and are perfect for kids to use when brushing their teeth!

Levitron Anti-Gravity Globe is only 4 inches in diameter, but floats in mid-air. It is on sale and is a big ticket item @ $85.99, but what an unusual gift (if you can afford it) for the person who has everything.

In fact the Executive Section contains some great desk items such as; the Solar Motion Plane Ride and Ant Works Illuminated which I can't imagine having on a desk at work. Don't people need that space to get their work done?

I have to get back to shopping...

Winter Begins

2008-12-05T09:15:00.008-05:00

I know winter is here when:

The car doors are all frozen shut
I am throwing out frozen, rotted pumpkins
I am in the woods cutting greens for the window boxes

I can see the neighbor's house through the bare trees
Orders arrive from LLBean
I wear 3 layers of clothing- in my house

I bake anything I can think of to warm the kitchen
Making homemade suet is a regular pastime

Want to see how I make it?

Advent & Why We Celebrate

2008-11-15T06:16:00.010-05:00

Advent is the time -4 weeks- leading up to Christmas when Christians celebrate the coming of Christ. Can Someone Please Explain ADVENT? Advent is a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. During this time, we observe a season of prayer, fasting and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope and joy. Many Christians celebrate advent not only by thanking God for Christ's first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of time. The wreath symbolizes the continuity of life and contains 4 candles; 3 purple and one pink (or rose). Each candle is lit one at a time on each Sunday of Advent, beginning Nov. 30th. with the pink one lit on the 3rd or 4th Sunday.

Scripture is read and a prayer is said before the lighting. It's a way to increase the expectation of the Saviour's birth. The real reason for Christmas.

In my house we always do an Advent calendar. The kids always had fun opening each little door to see how close Christmas was. Unfortunately many calendars don't include Jesus and people miss out on the message.

Advent On-line Devotions

The Christmas Countdown

Camp Chenoa Girl Scout Camp, Off Season

2008-11-07T19:24:00.001-05:00

It's Fall and the Girl Scout Camp is closed but lots of us from the area walk our dogs out through there in the off season. The groundskeeper/manager- ? - even plows the roads so the dogs will have someplace to exercise in the winter. Camp Chenoa is noisy and bustling all summer and the traffic gets a bit annoying for those of us who live here, but in the off-season it's a great place to exercise and enjoy the lake view.

Veterans Day Remembrance

2008-11-07T07:28:00.003-05:00

To all who bravely serve in the military, the ones who have in the past, and the families who have loved ones stationed far from home, I want to say how much I appreciate the sacrifice and pray for a speedy and safe return home.

"Thank You!"

Unusual & Unique Calendars for 2009

2008-10-20T14:19:00.026-04:00

40% off calendars at Zazzle!! Discount is applied to orders of one or more qualifying calendars and applies to the price of the product, not to shipping, taxes, and other charges. The coupon code CALENDARSAVE must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. Offer is valid from October 1, 2008 through November 10th at 11:59pm PST. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special promotional pricing offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Daisy Mae 2009 by noodleli

The View Up Here is unique because it's full of photos taken from a camera attached to a kite! Aside from the fact that the photographer lives in Hawaii and includes some beautiful scenery, all the pictures are from an unusual vantage point. The View Up Here - 2009 by theviewuphere Wild Things is an extraordinary wildlife photography calendar by Walt Alder Wild Things, 2009 Calendar by WildThings

Sea Shells Photography 2009 Calendar by pamdicar Seashell Photography Giraffe 2009 Calendar by amwesley Whimsical Friends: 2009 Calendar by daphne1024

"BEST BUDS" Gardening Cartoon Calendar by Swiss by Swisstoons

Christine's Cornish Collection CAL... by picklelillysdad Beautiful watercolor scenes of England

Washington, "The Evergreen State", 2009 by tompurse

2009 Serenity Prayer Calendar by Recovery

Dog Stars of 2009 by malibuitalian

Now through October 31st all calendars at Zazzle are 40% off. Just click on one below to see more, or visit the Zazzle homepage

To see more visit Unique Calendars.

Kayaking in Autumn

2008-10-13T10:54:00.019-04:00

My son and I decided to take the Kayaks out this weekend. It was a long, 4-day, mini-vacation for him and the weather was warm and sunny. The New Hampshire foliage must be close to peak, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity for capturing some great photos.

We decided to try getting under the bridge that passes from the lake to the swamp area and with a little ducking...we made it! I think my son would have been happy to just play under the bridge- he liked the echo.

We were in the swampy area where the water was only a few inches deep in most places...and the foliage was beautiful! It was our first trip to that side of the bridge.

I made a postage stamp out of this one.

The heron was having lunch and I tried to get a shot of him with the fish in his beak, even though my camera doesn't have a good zoom.

Once he had decided we were too close, he flew to the shore to eat in privacy.

After following the stream up as far as we could on the swamp side, we went back under the bridge and out into the lake. Read and see more on New England Foliage at my Squidoo Lens. This dead tree really stood out among the surrounding bright colors.

Individual Apple Pies & Recipe Variations

2008-10-09T23:44:00.008-04:00

The following link will take you to a couple of pictures of the little, individual pies I baked a while back. Blue Hibiscus: Homemade Individual Apple Pies

Individual Pie Dishes -, Pie pans & Where to buy Emile Henry.

I wanted to include my Apple Pie Recipe & Variations, for anyone who would like it. It was taken from

Betty Crocker's cookbook.(Printing 1974)

Apple Pie ( One 9-inch or 3 individual pies)

Pastry for a two-crust pie

(I buy mine because I have never had luck making pie crust!)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash salt

6 cups thinly sliced and pared apples

(I prefer Macintosh or Granny Smith or a mix of the two.)

2 Tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 425.

Stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt: mix with apples.Put into pastry lined pan; dot with butter.

(Splitting up the pastry between 3 smaller pies is tricky when using the store bought kind, and I didn't have quite enough for all 3 pies, so I did some lattice strips for one of them- see picture by clicking on the link above.) Cover with top crust and cut slits in top. Seal and flute edges. cover edge with *2-3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 40-50 minutes, until crust is brown and juice bubbles through slits.

(*Tip: Buy a foil pie pan and cut out the bottom, leaving only the edge as a ring to use-by flipping upside down- for covering the edge of your baking pie!)

Another favorite topping to replace a top crust:

French Apple Pie

Make as above, but omit the butter and top the filling with Crumb Topping: Mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup firm butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar until crumbly.

Bake 50 minutes and cover top with foil for the last 10 minutes if it begins to get too brown.

Dutch Apple Pie

Make the recipe above, but make extra large slits in the top crust. 5 minutes before the pie is done baking, pour 1/2 cup whipping cream through the slits in the top crust and bake 5 minutes.

New England Foliage photos: Fall Into Color

My Photography is in a Book!

2008-10-06T08:42:00.013-04:00

There is this really great guy, who goes by the name of Captphrank, and who has a wild sense of humor, working at Zazzle and he has kindly included me in a "book" he has made

on his Boopies.com site. Many greatly talented artists are featured there and when you see how he has set up the "books" I think you will be amazed. I was! It is an honor for me to be included.

To view my book click here, or go to the bottom of the page~ I am "pamdicar". To view just click on the corner of the page and it turns. And be sure to check out the others while you're there. Thanks Capt! Peoples Choice Award by captphrank See more prints From Zazzle.com More Weird Graphics Photos Posters Zazzeline by captphrank See more Print At http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238025173395626930 View other Digital Art Posters You can view more of his work at his Boopies book or Captphrank at Zazzle.

Check out the little squirrel drinking beer and more fun "icons" at Boopies.

Camp Chenoa Girl Scout Camp, NH

2008-10-02T15:23:00.009-04:00

Today's Walk

2008-10-02T15:05:00.004-04:00

I took my old dog for a long walk today. We went all around the Girl Scout Camp and got some photos, but the color isn't quite good enough yet by the lake- which is where the camp is located. This climbing wall must be a fairly new addition as I don't recall seeing it before today. The weather was threatening off and on and I kept expecting to have to hide under a big tree any minute, but we never got wet on our 2 mile journey. Isn't this the coolest bunch of mushrooms? They are huge too, which is hard to tell.

My neighbor and I just decorated the front of the house (it's a duplex). I love window boxes!

I will be posting more photos of the Camp when I can.

Brown House by the Lake

2008-10-01T08:31:00.012-04:00

You would think that living by a lake would be a dream come true. I am here to tell you...not necessarily. Recently I planned to move from one rental to another- a condo- and the week before I was to move in, there was a freak flood in the condo that left it uninhabitable. My future landlord just happened to have an empty house on the water that we could move into until the damage in the condo was repaired. The house has a holding tank instead of a leach field and the normal septic stuff. So any water we used was stored in the tank and had to be pumped out when full. Therefore we couldn't use much water. It meant fast showers, plastic forks, paper cups, and going to the laundrymat. Oh ... and a composting toilet. It was the end of August and still pretty warm so my son had fun after school skimboarding and swimming. He even caught a few fish...one was really big- but I didn't get a picture of that one.

It was not exactly a place I would ever choose to live, but we tried to enjoy life on the water by spending a lot of time outside. We only spent about a month here, but what I will remember most (unfortunately) is the first time I ever saw a composting toilet. Quite scary. We never got into the condo. I doubt that it will be repaired for many months to come. We have since moved to another place and although the house by the lake was dirty and filled with furniture belonging in a dump, we did enjoy being on the water for a while. After all, I will probably never live on a lake (which is my dream place to live) so I guess this was my taste of that lifestyle!

Some Fall Photography

2008-09-29T06:56:00.001-04:00

create & buy custom products at Zazzle I just realized that my Zazzle flash panel doesn't have only Fall photography and I am wondering why. Hmmmmmm....sorry. I hope you enjoy it anyway...

A Boy and A Book

2008-08-12T04:37:00.004-04:00

If you read the title of this post and think...nope...not at my house, I have some help for you. My 10 year old despises school and anything remotely related to school, including having to read. He is suppose to be reading over the summer and a nice letter, from his soon-to-be 5th grade teacher, arrived a couple of days ago reminding him to read at least one book over the summer. My son is extremely active...hyper would describe him better but not sound as nice. Telling him to sit still and read a book is like torture and he lets me know it. But I put all my skills at mothering to work and came up with an idea to make the whole reading thing seem worthwhile to him. I just didn't know if it would work. He doesn't need much sleep. It has always been that way. When other babies were taking 2 & 3 naps a day, my son had given up naps...he was about 1. He never started sleeping through the night completely until he was 5 YEARS old. He was born when I was 41 years old and I sure didn't need a baby like that at my age. But I digress.... He loves to stay up late. His average bedtime is 9pm- any earlier and he's up at 5, so he's always begging me to stay up late, so I have made a deal with him. The amount of time he spends during the day reading can be equal to the amount of extra time he can stay up past his bedtime. I thought he might struggle through 20 minutes of reading just to stay up, but I was wrong! He chose a book called "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and took the timer into his room (set it to count up) and read for 90 minutes! He actually liked the book too...kept telling me about the funny parts...whoa...dare I get my hopes up that he'll...gulp...like to read? So last night he stayed up until 10:30 and then we found the Olympics and watched them for another 30 minutes. He read half of that book and plans to read the rest today. I realize that this might not work for those of you lucky enough to have kids who actually get tired, but you could add the time onto something else they like, for instance a video game or something. In the world of parenting it's every man for himself. You have to do what works for you and your kids and don't go by what the world says. Once school starts he won't be staying up past nine, so we've decided to add the time on to the weekend...I think he might be staying up alone!

Teaching Mom...Again

2008-08-07T09:44:00.006-04:00

I have been trying for a very long time to figure out how to erase the background from a photo. I had a lot of pretty flower shots that I wanted to add to t-shirts without the ugly square background. Then I began photographing shells which seem to be a big hit on the items I sell, and once again I wanted to remove the background...Yes I am a little slow.... Then I discovered the Paint program...Ahhhh...so nice! Of course I started out doing it the wrong way which was taking forever...but fortunitely I live with young people who are happy to point out my foolishness..."You know (you unbelievable moron) that there is an easier way to do that (holy cow)" So now I can erase the background in no time!

Paint, Watermellon & Keds

2008-07-31T12:55:00.009-04:00

I recently started messing around on my Paint program and my 10 year old decided to try it out too...He made one of the pics below: can you guess which one...? I was just wondering why I haven't had any watermellon yet this year?

Unless cut my me, I don't know how fresh it is
I can't eat an entire mellon
No one to share it with (picky people)
Kitchen is too small to cut one up

I like my watermellon with salt...Yum...

Zazzle has added shoes to it's collection of customizable items...so if you need some new Keds, check it out...make your own or buy mine...(or of course, someone else's). Happy Sailboat Keds Shoe by pamdicar Create a Custom T-Shirt Using http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238025173395626930 Browse other Arts Design Fashion Keds Shoes

Coloring for Kids

2008-07-25T08:22:00.003-04:00

Please check out these cool coloring items made by Cherie at Zazzle. She can put pictures or names on any items which make fun gifts for kids to color. If you have something in mind, just send her a message. She is very clever and talented! COLOR ME - MONKEY SURFIN' by Cheries_Art COLOR ME - AT THE BEACH by Cheries_Art Jessica's Personalized T-Shirt by Cheries_Art Create Custom T Shirts At zazzle More Graphic Design T-Shirts

The Bracelet of Heads

2008-07-22T06:11:00.004-04:00

While packing her bedroom into boxes for our upcoming move, my daughter found a bracelet that I had given her years ago. "Here Mom, you can have this back. I don't really want it." The bracelet resembles a charm bracelet and is made of 6 children's heads in profile with engraving on each. I don't remember having it to give to my daughter, but it was probably in with my mother's jewelry which I "inherited". When my mother's husband had stashed her in a nursing home at the onset of Alzheimers (another story), I would go to their house and help him out by cleaning for him. In the mean time I took things that were family heirlooms such as her old jewelry, Hummel figurines she'd had since I was a kid, some old dishes, etc. because I knew I'd lose them if I didn't. I'm sure that sounds sneaky and dishonest, but although her husband promised me and my sister that we'd get everything (meaning my mothers family items) once he was gone, he has since pawned & sold every item she owned and spent all her (yes, it was all hers - he's a drunk who can't keep a job) money. My sister and I have nothing except what I would sneak out of the house. It is a long sad story and my point here is that it is how I came to have the old jewelry. That was almost 10 years ago and both my mother and her husband are still alive. Living in separate nursing homes. Everything else is gone. But I digress. The bracelet must have belonged to my grandmother on my mother's side because the children's heads are engraved with names and dates of birth of all 5 grandchildren on that side, and one great-grandchild. Upon closer examination, I realized that whomever had the engraving done did not get my birth date right! My kids and my sister got a real kick out of that and it reinforced my belief that I was left on the doorstep!

The Painted Elephant & Friends

2008-07-21T08:03:00.005-04:00

I admit that I enjoy promoting Artists and their work. Zazzle seems to be well known as the place to buy cool t-shirts, but there is so much more to see there. I have come across some beautiful work done by amazing people. I love to draw, but animals and people are the most difficult to do for me and painting just seems so impossible. I guess that is why I am drawn to the painters and especially the ones who paint such realistic animal pictures. Although these pictures are for sale ~ to see more click the pic ~ I want to show the artists' amazing talent.

Wildlife paintings by varying artists Elephant by SherryHolderHunt Rhinoceros by Laura_Regan_Artist

Commandments Poster by KyokoYamaji

Mining for Mica and More at Ruggles Mine, NH

2008-07-17T07:10:00.013-04:00

Ruggles Mine, Grafton, NH

I first saw this place last year on a field trip with my son's 4th grade class.

Drive through a bunch of little NH towns and along some narrow back roads and you will find this awesome old mine. Mica is everywhere and there is a possibility of finding rare gems worth money!

That is what keeps everyone looking down in here!

The day of the school field trip was cold and foggy, but on our recent trip the weather was perfect.

The mine is full of small dark caves and a flashlite is needed. My son brought his own hammer and goggles to shield his eyes.

The Mines employees ask that the walls not be chipped, but there are plenty of other rocks to chip at.

Walking down into the mine.

Workers who patrol the mine sometimes hide little gems among the rocks for kids to find.

Today my son found a white crystal and a blue polished stone.

The mine holds tons of Mica- clear and black, along with other rocks and minerals such as Feldspar, Garnet, Beryl, Amethyst and others.

It has an interesting history.

Sam Ruggles discovered the huge Mica deposits on his land and secretly mined the Mica and moved it, during the night, to Portsmouth, NH which is on the coast. Then it was shipped over to England.

It is believed that the reason he was so secretive was that in the 1803 when he discovered the Mica, land was claimed and not bought. There were limits on the amount of land one could claim each year and he didn't want someone else to come along and claim part of the mine - and cash in on his find! I guess I can't blame him.

Ever Seen Cuddly Cows?

2008-07-14T22:01:00.003-04:00

Photos From Beech Hill Farm

2008-07-12T07:29:00.032-04:00

Beech Hill Farm is located in Hopkinton, NH just west of Concord.

"King of the Hill"

Yummmmm...Clover See Yesterday's Tools Walk through a small garden area and buy some delicious ice cream. My son gets the Sundae because he can add his own toppings. Today he chose: *Marshmallow*White Chocolate (melted)*Crushed Oreos*M&M's*Whipped Cream

Fun at the farm continues into the Fall, when the Corn Mazes open up!

Wear your comfy shoes...!

Summer Treats

2008-07-05T19:07:00.009-04:00

Walking around the yard today I discovered that my peas were ready for picking! I also found lots of good stuff growing all over the place... like these Black Raspberries...YUM. (Not to be confused with Blackberries.)

Blueberries are starting to turn but the birds eat them pretty fast.

Of course there are bees too...here's a nasty one.

HAPPY 4th From New Hampshire

2008-07-04T08:03:00.004-04:00

My son is here from Florida and he loves to visit New Hampshire this time of year. Not as an escape from the sweltering Florida summer, but because NH allows and sells awesome fireworks! He is in awe. So we had to go out and buy a bunch over in Chichester where they had the usual special of "Buy one get one free". He spent about $130 on these. (not shown here are the 20 boxes of "poppers" my 10 year old chose- his faves)

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends!

Sea Shells Photos

2008-06-26T08:55:00.007-04:00

The Gulf Coast of Florida, specifically Sanibel Island and Captiva hold a bounty of beautiful shells. These were collected along the coast years ago by me and my kids when we vacationed there. Living only a few hours away, made the trip affordable. It is a beautiful place, but very touristy.

Don't ever believe the photos of gorgeous, people-free beaches...and speaking of beaches...the ones on Sanibel are completely shells...not sand...so bring beach shoes or you will have trouble walking.

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Wine Making in New Hampshire

2008-06-23T10:37:00.010-04:00

I am not a wine drinker, but I am trying to like it since now it is touted as being good for me! Well at least it's probably better than beer - which I prefer. So the other day when I was browsing the wine section at the local Hannafords (and feeling really lost) I came across a display of local New Hampshire made wine. I bought a bottle and it wasn't bad. Not that I am a wine connoisseur..!! I just found it quite interesting that it had been bottled locally. Check out Jewell Towne Vineyards for more info. Thought I'd share.

Peonies

2008-06-20T06:19:00.004-04:00

I first saw Peony flowers in my grandmother's gardens in New England where I grew up. I was little and the flowers seemed so huge! She had all colors but I loved the light pink the most. I think that she must have liked them too because she grew so many.

Then I moved to the south - Florida - and couldn't enjoy Peonies because of the heat. They need to be in the cold winter ground which of course is non-existent in Florida. The south has it's own beautiful array of plant life, but I am so happy to be back in the Northeast where I can enjoy my childhood flowers again.

Today I became a Mom

2008-06-16T14:55:00.003-04:00

Today I am thinking of this day in 1976 when I first became a Mom. Seems like a very long time ago that my big 8 lb. 11 oz. boy was born. I think I weighed 140 lbs at nine months pregnant which is a lot LESS than I weigh now and believe me I'm NOT pregnant.

My computer isn't working (using my daughters) so I can't load any photos or I would...sorry. But...

Happy Birthday Kurt!

Hope you are having fun today...

Bouquet Surprise for Mom

2008-06-10T12:37:00.005-04:00

My oldest son and his wife sent this gorgeous bouquet

to me for Mother's Day.

This is exactly the type of bouquet I love. One with loads of variety!

Roses are beautiful flowers, but a bit boring if you ask me.

I much prefer something like this.

So thanks Kurt & Mel ~ I love you too!

Our First Baby Goats

2008-06-02T13:59:00.023-04:00

I don't remember how this all came about, but in the summer of 2002 my daughter and I bought 2 baby goats. We went to Sandy's goat farm when we got the call that some babies had been born. Once they were old enough, we took them to our home to live. They drank from bottles for a while, and lived in our outdoor dog kennel, except at night, when they would sleep in my daughter's bedroom in a big cage. We lived in central Florida, so the weather was nice- and HOT! So they could spend all their time outside.

We'd had big dogs so the doghouse inside the kennel was very large and the goats ran inside at the first drop of rain. They hated the rain! I named my tan goat, Misty and my daughter named her black and white one, Kandy. (Here she is eating the swing...!)

They were so much fun.......most of the time! They climbed up on everything - windowsills, chairs, logs, and pretty much anything they could find.They didn't help with the tall grass, but seemed to love eating my Camelias and the Spanish Moss that was everywhere.

We used to pull it (the moss) off the Oaks and hang it on their pen as a snack.

As they grew and got their horns, they began to butt the dog if he came too close. He learned to stay away.

Misty had a very bad habit of barging through the screen around the swimming pool -not good--and they ate everything!---Except the grass...

Misty loved to ride in the wheelbarrow. As soon as I would grab it, she would hop in and put her front hooves on the very front and balance there as I pushed. They also had a great time playing "king of the hill" on the playset we had in the yard. One of them would go up to the top of the stairs and push the other one off as they tried to climb the stairs. I had a hard time getting good pictures of them as they were always on the move. If they noticed the camera, they came over to have a nibble! Everything was to be chewed on or at least tasted.

As they got older, they began to get out of the yard. One day the lawn mower backfired and Kandy jumped over the fence ( you can see it here in the background). It wasn't safe for them to be out of the yard, so we ended up giving them back to Sandy to live among their kind in a safer environment. I hope one day to have goats again. They were amusing and sweet and I miss them...

Homemade Individual Apple Pies

2008-05-28T18:49:00.002-04:00

My first attempt at individuals.

They came out yummy!

The little pie dishes came from "Emile Henry"

Hummingbird Feeding- Yes or No?

2008-05-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Last Fall I bought a cheap, plastic, easy-to-clean hummingbird feeder.

I have read that it is perfectly fine to feed hummingbirds and it's false to believe that they will stick around too long and not migrate because of the supply of sugar water.

I just never wanted to bother with the mixing and cleaning and re-filling. Now I mix up the sugar and water and keep it in the fridge, using only an inch or two in the feeder and changing it every couple of days. It's not very difficult.

At my previous house, the gardens were full of early (and late) blooming plants to give the hummers the food they needed, but at my present house no such gardens exist.

I used to just look out the kitchen window and they would be flitting all over the garden. I had a Honeysuckle vine that they loved and a bright red Monarda along with lots of Columbine. But I found that they really liked to visit almost every flowering plant!

There is just grass and trees where I am now, so I bought a feeder.

I just put it out again in May and immediately had visitors.

Constantly, all day long, they come and go.

(Besides, I have to stop feeding the other birds because of the Spring bear visits...Once again my feeder is mangled...but still usable for next year)

Hummingbirds are so cute, and fiesty--I never see more than one at a time on the feeder. If another comes close when one is drinking, he gets chased away!

Do you feed them? I am curious. Please comment if you have the time.

New Hampshire Maple Syrup

2008-05-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

Fresh out of the trees, boiled down and bottled.

Sweet and delicious.

I like mine in Tea.

Last year we visited one of the many local makers of Maple Syrup.

It was so interesting and this man was very enthusiastic about sharing his craft.

His Sugarhouse was in his backyard, on Old Pound Road in Antrim, NH and the lines to the trees ran all over his property. He had a huge barrel full of sap out back and let us take a taste right out of the line!

He had an awesome looking stove and explained how it all works, then gave us a little cup of the fresh made syrup.

We bought a big jug of it to take home.

This year I missed out on visiting a Sugarhouse and bought my little bottle of syrup at a Farm just last week. The Maple Syrup making season is very short so it's easy to miss, but we are always reminded by the metal buckets hanging all over the trees once the weather is right and the sap is running.

Long Winters Equal Lots of Knitting & Crocheting Projects

2008-05-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

I found this silk needle holder that was my grandmothers, I believe, and I shudder now to think that I almost donated it- full of old knitting needles- to the swap shop in town! The case contains all sizes of steel needles and some plastic...the wooden ones I bought recently...and I'm sure they are quite old. Some may even have been my great- grandmothers as they all were knitters. My mother was always making sweaters and blankets for the babies, and grandmothers on both sides were very crafty, doing tatting, needlepoint and hooking rugs.

I didn't knit. Then one day I received a knitting magazine in the mail. It had been delivered to the wrong address and after looking through it, I decided to maybe take it up. A wonderful lady in town gave knitting lessons and my neighbor had told me she was taking lessons and I should go. I have learned the basic Knit & Pearl stitches, but nothing fancy. What I did learn, was about the yarn. I prefer 100 percent wool over acrylics even though they must be hand washed. The wool is soft and warm for afgans and scarves, which is mostly what I make...oh, and a few hats, but those are mostly crocheted. I also bought the book "Knitting for Dummies" which is helpful as well. At Anne's "Wool Room" where I took my lessons, I would buy yarn grown and spun in the New England area along with New Zealand "Tekapo" and soft Alpaca. When I can't get to Anne's shop, I mail order Paton's Merino. This denim blue scarf is knit & pearl and it's slow going for me, but fun to do. I like to have many projects going at once so I don't get bored with my simple stitch patterns. Lion Brand also has on line help and free patterns available. I couldn't remember how to "bind off" when finished with a project, and the Lion Brand site had great directions for that. Simple "Basketweave" pattern is about the most difficult I can handle. Making mistakes when knitting is not fun. I have a very difficult time correcting my mistakes. The stripes in this simple knit scarf with "I-Cord" edging, come from pretty Tekapo yarn. Crocheting is still the easiest and fastest for me. This 'in progress' wool afgan is made from left over Merino wool and I plan to use it on my bed next winter. Visiting Anne's shop, in her old farmhouse, reminds me of my grandmother. I'm pretty sure that I will never become a great knitter, but it's in my blood to try.

Cards and Funny T-Shirts for Father's Day!

2008-05-17T12:34:00.000-04:00

The top flash panel is mine and the bottom is filled with fun t-shirt designs by a very talented lady over at Zazzle. I just happen to love her shirts...she has a lot more than the "Dad's Day" designs here so be sure to visit one of her many galleries listed below.... create & buy custom products at Zazzle create custom t-shirts at Zazzle Sports T-Shirts @ sports_tshirts's Gallery at Zazzle Wedding T-Shirts @ wedding_tshirts's Gallery at Zazzle Bachelor & Bachelorette T-Shirts @ bachelorbachelorette's Gallery at Zazzle

Cabins With Views

2008-05-15T12:13:00.001-04:00

When deciding to move north out of Florida, we ultimately decided to go back home to New England, but my second choice would definitely have been someplace near the Smoky Mountains. The only turn off for me was the fact that all the Floridians tired of the tourists and crowds were moving to that area! I predict that one day the Smoky Mountains area will be just as bad as Florida as far as over crowding. It's a favorite place to vacation for the southerners because of the beauty of the mountains and it's fairly close by. I like to plan ahead, so in 1996 I planned a vacation for the following summer in Tennessee for my family and my sister's family. She lived in Massachusetts and we were in Florida, so we thought that would be a nice way to get together. I searched for months for the right cabin to rent and believe me, there were so many beautiful places to choose from that it was very difficult to decide. I finally chose one called the Little Greenbriar Chalet in Wears Valley, Tennessee. It turned out to be absolutely gorgeous with 3 floors and fantastic views. I think there was a hot tub on the big porch too. The best thing about this home was that just maybe a mile up the road we could be in the Smoky Mountain National Park where we often went to walk in the brook and collect river rocks and chase crayfish. The kids thought it was great! We visited an old school house, did the Cades Cove loop- where we saw some bears, and hiked quite a bit, but one thing about planning a vacation in the distant future means having to deal with unexpected events by the time that vacation arrives. For me that meant being - very unexpectedly - pregnant by the summer of 1997. Being 6 months pregnant meant it was a bit more difficult to do the hikes in the heat and I didn't chance slipping on the wet stones in the brook so I watched from the shore. I couldn't sit in the hot tub and have a cold one while enjoying the view....but, it was a nice vacation nevertheless. Actually, I think it was my last one.

Hiking and Photography in the Northwestern US

2008-04-30T07:51:00.000-04:00

Mount Baker by tompurse

Tom Purse is a fabulous photographer I met over at Zazzle and he has his own cool website called Northwest Scenescapes which showcase his awesome work. I have never traveled far from the Eastern Seaboard, but through Tom's gorgeous photos, I am able to view the Mountains of Oregon and Washington State. The coolest thing is that he gives interesting descriptions of the area as well as location maps. And now, he has begun to offer something called "Fototrex" which are trips to the mountains he loves to photograph and hikes to the best areas for capturing some excellent photos of your own! What a great idea! If I lived in the area, I'd go in a minute... Tom's website is packed full of the most gorgeous photos and also a couple of fun pics- one containing --dinosaurs?-- How old is this guy anyway...! His site contains lots of links to places like Mount Rainier, Cannon Beach, Visitor Centers, State Parks, and even Waterfalls and where to find them. I cannot begin to describe all he offers at Northwest Scenescapes, so if you are planning a trip to the Western US you might want to check it out! If not...just go look at his photography...I promise that it will brighten your day.

Snoqualmie Falls by tompurse

Pity the Poor Sub

2008-04-29T08:03:00.000-04:00

At 6am the alarm buzzes. Check the phone- did the call come earlier today? Nope, no message. Start the coffee, feed the dog and let him out- wait- let him in. Throw him a treat. Into the shower -take the phone into the bathroom so as not to miss the call- and dressed and ready for work in 30 minutes. Just in time to get the boy up and moving. Start breakfast and pack his lunch at the same time. Still no call. Check on the weather and get the boy's clothes ready (so they at least match- he is a boy). Make sure homework, snack money, lunch box, and water bottle are in the backpack. By now it's almost 7am and most certainly too late for a call. But, not impossible yet. Play Uno with the boy while waiting for the bus. Good-bye, have a good day...and he's off to school. Back into the bathroom and change out of the "work clothes" into jeans. Looks like a day off. Every school day is this like this- in some way- for a substitute teacher. Unless one is lucky enough to get a long term subbing job and therefore knowing that getting up and getting ready for work will actually pay off. Sometimes I go for a week without a single call. Besides being annoying, the financial uncertainty stinks! And when the call does come- usually anywhere between 6am and 7am around here- every day is like the first day of work at any job. Uncertainty and apprehension, unless you have been doing it for a long time and are familiar with the schools, teachers, and expectations...Which school? What class? The Sub coordinator on the other end of the line asks "Are you available?" She doesn't want to say for what position- just in case you might know that this particular class is horrible, or hate doing Gym class- so the answer commits you. "You are? Oh great. It's Gym class at blah, blah. Thanks." That means a change of clothes- or at the very least a change of shoes! And it means sweating and most certainly injuries- the kids, not me, in most cases! Gym class brings quite a bit of whining from the kids who dislike gym..."my foot hurts", "I can't run because..", "Why can't so and so be on my team?" And since Gym classes are special classes, it also means that I will be dealing with many different classes and ages all day long, with no possibility of learning their names...but I will know immediately which ones are going to give me trouble. I'll learn their names. Classrooms are a little different and better in many ways. For one thing, it's not gym! Remembering names is a bit easier when it's only 20 or so kids. However, you are dealing with those same 20 kids all 6 hours, even if 2 or 3 are very unhappy with you all day long.. it can be a very long day. Also, there is just nothing like the looks on their precious little faces the moment they walk in the classroom door at 8am and see it's a SUB! The very first words you will hear as a sub anywhere, are: "Where is Mrs. so and so?" And then: "Are you (the facial expressions here vary-and the eyes generally give you a once over) our teacher?" And so it goes. Just think about how you treated your subs way back when...Personally, I am very sorry for not realizing their difficult position. My son always says that his subs are mean. HA! No wonder!! Where I live, anyone with a high school diploma and clean background check can sub in the schools. No degree required, but lots of courage. Some people love subbing. I dislike it for all the reasons mentioned above. I am looking for a new job.

New England Springs Slowly

2008-04-16T10:20:00.000-04:00

Waiting for last signs of any frost is toughest on 65 degree days in April. It just seems right to start planting. I am getting the garden cleaned up a bit and have noticed some new growth on the Columbine, Hydrangeas and Peonies. Some plants are marked, but many are not and I've been trying to recall where I planted what last summer when we moved.

The hardy Rhubarb is sprouting up in clumps of reddish green bumpy leaves and a few Lily leaves are pushing through the dirt.

Although snow is still stacked in a huge pile at the end of the driveway, the pond has lost it's ice and ducks are showing up for visits. The Hooded Mergansers have come back- they are so astonishingly gorgeous- and a Wood Duck pair as well.

Last weekend my daughter and her boyfriend took the kayaks out on the pond and sunned themselves for a while! Pretty funny since the pond is nothing more than a big puddle! It's about 4 feet deep- maybe- and very small.

Rhubarb

Although these sunny warm days make me want to plant a garden, the planting date (last chance for a frost) up here is June 1st! Wow, that is a long time to wait, but we do still get below freezing at night so patience is needed. The local farm stands will be opening soon and then we can go crazy! Can't wait to buy my Cherry Tomato plants, but in the meantime I will have to settle for Pansies and weeding.

Breaking 100 Year Old Records In New Hampshire

2008-03-28T07:03:00.000-04:00

March 28, 2008 We are breaking 100 year old records up here in New Hampshire for the most snow in a season. Just an inch puts us up a notch in the list and 10 inches would put us at the very top for the most snow since the 1873-74 season. I found the following on my local WMUR Chanel weather page:

Record breaking snows Currently we are at 112.4" of snowfall in Concord. That has us in 2nd place for highest snowfall in a winter season in well over 100 years and only the third time we've reached 100" since 1900! ALL TIME records: We are now in 4th place for Concord, ready to move up by early tomorrow morning ! 1) 1873-74 122.0" 2) 1872-73 115.0" 3) 1995-96 113.2" 4) 2007-08 112.4" 5) 1886-87* 111.0" 6) 1887-88* 111.0" Pictures coming...once I get my skipants and boots on!!

I measured 3 inches on the ground at 8:30am when I took these photos. As I headed up the hill to get some shots of the house, my left foot sunk in up to my knee...so there is still quite a bit piled up in places- not counting whats coming today.

I don't know why my son decided to build his snowman right in the walkway...but he's happy to have another "Snow Day".

That big pile of snow next to him was shoveled off the roof a couple of weeks ago.

I think we will still have mounds of snow in June....

This area behind the house was dry last summer.

Pie Auction Photos

2008-03-25T10:18:00.000-04:00

You must check out these pie photos on Killlishandra's site.

All were auctioned off to benefit the FFA in her area. What a fabulous fundraiser! Check out this winning recipe at Pinwheels (Key Lime Pie)

I Hate to Move It, Move It!

2008-03-24T10:05:00.003-04:00

FYI: My blog posts will begin to be sparse as I prepare to move into my castle. Seems to be the time of year when people who have to, or want to, begin the preparations to move. My family won't be going on any vacations or relaxing at the beach this summer (actually we haven't had a vacation in...a very long time...so we can handle it).

We will be building muscles and most likely screaming at each other- if we have the strength- before this fun event is over.

This too shall pass...can't wait for that. I have moved twice in the past 3 years and will be packing up to go someplace else in a couple of months.

(By the way, I am not moving into a castle...!!) Those of us with kids have to consider the school year- it ends in late June here in NH- and hopefully arrange the move to coincide with that date. Coordinating the end of this lease agreement and the beginning of the next takes a lot of planning and sometimes extra money --HA!--to hold a desired house or condo. Besides all the planning there is the packing- again. I've already lost items in the moves that I might never find again since I don't unpack everything--- Why do so? It seems futile to unpack unneeded items just to set them on a shelf to be packed up again in a year. I use only the necessities and until I have a permanent home once again (please God!) that is how I will live. My plantar facitious is still bothering my foot from all the lugging of heavy boxes last June--hey, I am not that young any more!

And don't forget all the address changes to make....

oh nooooo...not fun. I don't look forward to the next few months, but I am counting on the outcome of all this hard work to be a good one.

We will live closer to friends - including my son's friends, a lower rent payment (whoo hoo!), a new (and better) job--this is a hope as well, and just maybe a place I will like living in! Who knows, maybe I'll stay there for 2 years...my foot might be healed up by then!!

All of you who will be joining me in this Spring time adventure of searching for a place to live...You have my sympathy...and remember....YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Easter Eve

2008-03-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

The eggs came out very pretty and my son had a good time mixing colors, but this Egg Coloring kit was very messy. The packages contained oil which floated on top of the color in the bowl and apparently stuck to the egg to make the swirl look. Along with the colored water everywhere we also had slippery, yukky oil! I am not one for messes and I can withstand a lot having had 4 kids over the past 31 years, but this egg coloring day stands out as one of the nastiest to clean up.

However, it only happens once a year...and my son was very proud of his eggs!!

Can You Tell?

2008-03-21T09:37:00.000-04:00

It is Spring-- yet difficult to realize up here in New Hampshire. The wind has been blowing like crazy and the temp. is only in the 30's. Hurray the sun is shining!

If I had to list any signs of Spring they would be:

Turkeys in the yard today eating the birdseed that blew out of the feeders.

Snow is still covering the ground, but a few patches of dirt/grass are showing.

Occasional sightings of Spring birds. Yesterday I had a flock of Red Winged Blackbirds in the yard.

I think that is about it. Although I have to start watching for the bears. This is when they wake up hungry and like to munch on bird feeders. Most of my feeders have been damaged by bears.

The winter snowfall has set records. I think we are currently 3rd from the top of the snowiest year ever. Many roofs have caved in around NH and Concord closed school for a day to clear the school roofs. My landlord brought a crew over to push the 3 plus feet off the house here 2 weeks ago and I think it was a wise move. Even with all the cold and snow I don't want winter to be over. I spent so many years living in Florida and being hot (an understatement) that the cold is still refreshing to me. I enjoy every snowfall and building fires. The Spring means slush, mud, flooding, and bugs. In the north it seems that the insects know they only have 90 days or so to live so they make the most of it!! May means May flies which are the most disgusting bugs-- and I've seen some disgusting bugs. These things are tiny and swarm your head relentlessly and they BITE. I can sometimes feel them bite and sometimes not, but they leave huge red, itchy welts. I mean 'wake you up in the night scratching' itchy. Then come the mosquitoes, and the bees are unbelievable. There must have been at least 20 bee hives on this house by the end of summer last year. Spray, knock the nest down and spray again...but nothing stops them...it's amazing. Last Fall I had bees coming in through my bathroom ceiling- right into the house because of a nest in the attic area. Disgusting! I'd rather shovel snow!! When we first moved up here to NH, we saw people wearing nets over their heads and laughed and made fun of them. I now own one of those nets-- and yes, I wear it in May. These bugs are not funny. Unless you plan to stay indoors for about 6 weeks- just when the weather is becoming lovely- you will want to wear one too. Better yet, just don't visit NH in May.

Kitchen Memories

2008-03-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies conjures up a disgusting, but funny, memory. When my youngest son was about 2 or 3 years old he was feeling a little under the weather, so to boost his spirits and get his mind off the blahs, I had him help me mix up some chocolate chip cookies. He was small enough to have to stand on a stool to reach the island counter top and seemed to be enjoying dumping the ingredients into the bowl. The last ingredient is, of course, the chocolate bits and just as I began to mix them in....it happened....he barfed right into the bowl..!!!! Yes, it was disgusting and shocking...my mouth must have dropped open and all I can remember was my first desperate thought... How can I save this batter????? I know, that is pretty nasty, but we were finished! All that work...all those cookies...gone! The poor kid, he felt bad and all I could do was laugh (to myself- he was really sick!) I reassured him that it was okay and I don't remember, but I think I made something else to replace the barf cookies. Today my son- who is now 10- and I made chocolate chip cookies together and before I could even bring up the subject, he said, "remember the time I threw up in the cookies?" We laughed at the memory and the closer we got to the end of the mixing, I kept saying, "Do you feel alright?" And we'd laugh.... All throughout my favorite cookbook- Betty Crocker's 1974 edition- I can find little notes and other goodies from the past. (As you can see it's quite worn...) My daughter liked to make up her own recipes like "Pop's Noodles- noodles that pop when you eat them." She would list ingredients such as "shugaer" and "flower" and "add 5 or 4 bluebeareys in mufeinse". I have 5 pages of Russian Recipes sent home from my daughters high school Russian teacher. She had to choose a recipe to make and bring in to class for a party. We could choose from the likes of: KBac--Fermented Rye drink, Moscow Donuts, Shashlik, Okpowka (Cold Cucumber Soup), and Eggplant Dip. I don't remember for sure but I think we made Snowballs- a round cookie. I have notes tucked in the pages that were left when the kids went for bike rides or for a walk, old school papers, and other scribbled recipes given to me by friends or co-workers. My old cookbook is always fun to open...even if I'm not baking anything...!

Riding the Obama Wave

2008-03-15T10:41:00.000-04:00

I do not like the Clintons. I never even considered the possibility of voting for Hilary. I think it is disgusting that Bill Clinton is still running around this country, speaking, having libraries named after him, and the like, after his disgusting antics while serving as our President. Obama first came to my attention a few years ago when he spoke at some political event...I am not sure where or what it was concerning, but I do remember thinking at the time that he seemed like a guy who would be going places. He was articulate and intelligent, calm and assertive and I frankly am not surprised that he's a presidential candidate. Now I am growing more apprehensive. I am increasingly worried by the vast number of followers he has gathered and the fact that they are - in my mind- blindly following him. I call it the Obama Wave. He's a black man (this gives him the black vote- Lets make history!). He is very articulate and knows how to motivate a crowd...He has a catchy slogan..."Yes, we can!". He is self-confident and intelligent and has a dedicated wife by his side. And most of all, he is running against a Clinton. All good reasons to check him out. Many are "riding the wave" but how many of his supporters ARE checking him out? Last night, I watched some news videos (they have very short commercials that come on before the clip) of Rev. Wright who is Barack Obama's pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ. Obama has been a member of this church for 20 years and the Reverend performed his marriage ceremony. Obama himself says that Wright is like an Uncle to him. The clips of Rev. Wright preaching anti-white and anti-American messages to his congregation were very disturbing. In fact the church claims to be a "black church" remaining true "to our native land, the mother continent"- Africa. I don't know what the mainstream media, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN etc., are reporting, but FOX News has had some pretty fascinating video lately, if you take the responsibility of voting seriously, you must look hard at the background of the candidates. I question Obama's dedication to this country- that his wife is now "finally proud of" when his church is dedicated to another. Just imagine a white candidate being a member of a specifically white church- dedicated to the advancement of the white people and calling Ireland it's mother country. How would that sit? John McCain did a full hour interview two nights ago with Sean Hannity and I found it to be very interesting. I knew he had been a POW but didn't know he was imprisoned for 5 years. Both of his arms were broken- hence the odd way he holds his arms. He's tough and when he says he loves his country, I believe him! He has proved it by his service and sacrifice and he'll get my vote.

Advertising Yourself

2008-03-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

I suppose it's the thing to do these days. Hang out with friends and drop your card into their hand-just in case they don't know enough about you already. Meet someone you hope will want to get to know you better and hand them a little "profile card" with your My Space or Facebook info all right there. Looking for a job? Announce yourself and all you've achieved. Play guitar or drums? Pass out little cards telling prospective music students, band members or nightclubs what you can do and how to be contacted. Add a photo of yourself or what interests you and Wow! You've made a great impression! Ideas to get started:

Rainbow's End profile card by SuzeeQ

Drums - Skinny by ZazzleProfileCards Music Mix Profile Card by webgrrl

Lonesome Guitar Music Business Card Template by bhbphotos

Profile card with eagle by tompurse

Announce Yourself by pamdicar

Business Card by pamdicar

Now That's Rain!

2008-03-07T13:15:00.000-05:00

When it rains in Florida, you know it. There is no doubt at all and even before it begins the wind picks up and blows like mad so you know it's coming. The black clouds swirl and lightening cracks. It's pretty much a daily occurrence, but I never liked it. It always seemed to begin around 2pm when I was heading to the elementary school to pick up my kids. All the students and teachers would be standing outside with umbrellas under the awnings while the rain gushed and lightening flashed. Puddles formed immediately and roads flooded. Windshield wipers were set on high speed and once the kids were in the car they were soaked. In Florida it rains in sheets and sometimes you can see it coming like a wall. Really. I had a flower garden in the front yard, right under the front picture window, and I had to put 2 big slabs of slate at each corner where the water flowed off the roof to keep the soil from washing away. The water poured off the roof like two cascading waterfalls every time we had a storm. The good thing is the fact that the whole state is made up of sand so all that water soaks in pretty quickly and the storms don't last too long, but they can come one after another and they make the roads slippery. I spent lots of time watching the weather when I lived there- including in the middle of the night sometimes. Up here in New Hampshire I can barely tell when it is raining. I think I have heard thunder 3 times in the 3 years I've lived here and I've never been soaked from a rainstorm. In fact, my son goes outside and plays when its "raining" here. People up here complain about the snow and rain and ice, but I have yet to see some bad and scary weather. In 2004 we dealt with 3 hurricanes in 6 weeks time in Central Florida, and although that was very unusual, I never want to have to do that again. If I have to go shovel the steps and brush snow off my car I will gladly do it. It is nothing compared to spending days dragging tree limbs out of the yard in 95 degree heat and sitting for 7 days in your plywood enclosed house (another hurricane was coming) with no electricity....but that's for another post. The only bugs I've seen in the past 5 months have been ladybugs, and you won't get a break like that in Florida either! Okay, I have to go look (hard) and see if it's raining. Hurricane Calendar- 2008 by pamdicar

For Amy Jordan aka "folkartblonde"

2008-03-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

SUDDENLY MINE

O Lord, May I believe in the darkness

When all hope has vanished

When waves beat with fury

And no star lights my sky.

May I believe without

Feeling or knowing or proving

Till one shining moment when

You shatter the darkness

And all I believed for

Is suddenly mine.

Taken from "Lord, You Love To Say Yes" by Ruth Harms Calkin

PRAYER ANGEL with Jesus collage wings - print by folkartblonde

Amy, this is not "good-bye" but "see you later"

NH Record Snowfall

2008-03-01T14:15:00.001-05:00

These photos were taken yesterday, Friday - Leap Day- to show how much snow we have. Sometimes it's hard to tell when we are so used to walking on top of all the layers that have piled up.

My son was so excited to dig down to the actual ground and we were pretty amazed at the depth of snow.

That was yesterday. Overnight we got another 6-7 inches and it is snowing off and on still. I am worried about the roof, but my landlord's son does snow removal on roofs so I guess if he wants the roof cleaned off he'll get it done.

Southern NH is setting records for snowfall and I just keep thinking that it will all be melting in a couple of months. I hope it doesn't end up in my basement.

NH Live Webcam

I thought this was a cool snowboarding design. Snowboarding-Rising Sun Blue Shirt by JayBakkerArt

Frozen Balloons

2008-03-01T13:44:00.001-05:00

My son made these water balloons and put them outside to freeze.

He left them overnight and then peeled off the balloon to see what kind of ice formation was left.

He loves scientific stuff and had tried freezing a couple of balloons in the freezer, but why take up freezer space when the whole yard is a freezer?

Some of the ice balls were clear and looked like a crystal ball and others had bubbles inside.

I think he was happy with his experiment. And I was happy that he was busy outside!

Those Adorable Raccoons

2008-02-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

Don't you love my little raccoon picture? I had nothing to do with taking the photo- a very talented man over at Zazzle did that, but I think it is my favorite animal picture. Every time I come here I see their cute little faces. It would make a wonderful poster to hang on my wall. I would add a saying like: I'm always watching! Or maybe I'd just leave it as it is. Anyway, here's to you Walt of Wild Things. Very nicely done and thanks for the permission to use it to brighten my blog.

For the Lazy Teen in Your Kitchen

2008-02-28T14:55:00.000-05:00

Any one who has teenagers who are messing around with their future by skipping school, staying up all night playing on the computer with their loser friends, or just sitting around mooching off mummy and daddy, might want to buy this shirt as a going away present for them as you kick their lazy butts out the door.

Didngota College by tshirtfun For those of you who haven't reached this wonderful stage of life with your children yet, let this serve as a warning sign of things to come. Maybe.

It's always best to be ready.

I know what you are thinking. "Not my kid"

Famous last words my friends-- just ask around.

Having teenagers is the best birth control ever.

And just incase your teen is responsible and wants to get a degree, be ready for the FAFSA and PLUS, STAFFORD and PERKINS loans. Be ready to deal with inept college financial aid offices and paperwork equaling IRS tax forms. And yes, it has to be redone each year and don't expect the undergrad to help.

Unless you are rich. Then just write a check.

(p.s. This post is dedicated to Billy)

NH Winter Photographs

2008-02-27T13:43:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, Feb. 27

The wildlife is suffering this year for lack of food to find. Feeders to fill mean paths to shovel.

Another 9 inches on top of ????

I'll just say that it's quite a bit.

This is the top of my fence post.

Hey! I got some help this time!!

Welcome...

Then he went to play on the snow hills.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

2008-02-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

We lost power at 9:45 pm.

My 10 year old held the flashlight in the garage while I lugged wood in for the fireplace. The house was designed with a wood bin next to the living room fireplace which is accessed from the basement stairs. An old pile of wood sits on the garage floor- maybe half a cord- and the logs can be stored in the bin for later use.

I have not run the fireplace much since a half cord of wood really won't last long and I wanted it for emergencies since it's kind of cold up here in New England without heat.

At 9:45 last night the bin held only about 5 logs so I had to stock it.

My son was scared to go into the basement with only a flashlight, but I couldn't hold that and carry wood at the same time- although I am super woman- (I'm considering buying a hat with a built in light for just such occasions), so he had to help.

The wood bin is between the stairs and the fireplace.

Once the wood was up, I proceeded to crumple newspaper and build the fire. My son lit it and went to bed. I slept on the couch to keep it going through the night and didn't sleep well I might add. It was a little like having a baby to listen for. I kept waking up to check if it was okay. A fireplace burns wood quite fast as compared to a wood stove, so I had to add logs about every hour or two. At 3:45am I awoke to the sound of the furnace coming on...aaahhhh...electricity! I went to bed and was up at 7 to shovel the heavy 9 inches of new snow (and get some photos of course).

We Don't Need Help!

2008-02-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

Come on people! Why is it that you think you can't figure out how to lose some weight without other people helping you? Just about everyone knows by now all about calories and fat (the good and bad) and how to go about burning those calories. We all know that fried food is bad and that fish is better for you than a hamburger. We have the basics and we aren't stupid, so why do we act like we are helpless when it comes to slimming down-or better yet, being healthy? Do you really have to "join a club" and buy Jenny Craig meals to make it work? It's all in your head people! It's the feeling of being a part of the "chubby and suffering" club and "we're all in this together" syndrome. If you need that, then find a friend to encourage you or join a neighborhood walking group or something. But your goal should be to take control of your own body and mind- YOU DON'T NEED THEM. Only YOU can make it work for you and no one else can see what it is you need to change. Stop believing that you are too incompetent and weak to make it work. Besides, your lifestyle is what creates the weight problem, so only you have that unique knowledge to use to your advantage. And you can change it. Don't bury your head in the sand and pretend you don't see how and why! Stop eating so much junk and start doing more!!! I could write a book too, but it basically comes down to that no matter what fad diet you choose!! Oprah does entire shows on it and I suppose it is inspiring to see someone who weighed 300 pounds once become a size 10. I just believe that we have the power within us, so tap into it and make it work for you! You are smart, you control it, and you CAN do it! Here is what I know for me:

Fried foods are my downfall. French fries especially. So, I don't go to fast food restaurants where they have those yummy, salty, greasy heart cloggers that I can pick up at the window and enjoy on my ride. This is tough when the kids are hungry and I have to stop to feed them, so every now and then a few fries are okay, but the less I eat them, the less I want them and the fewer I need to be happy.
I sit at the computer too much. I don't walk as much as I should and I blame it on the cold, ice, snow, rain, wind, loose dogs, bears, wild animals, and other things that keep me inside. Knitting is not good exercise. I do Yoga in the morning while I watch Fox News. It's not an aerobic thing, but it stretches out my muscles, keeps me flexible and tones me up a bit. All good things. I plan on getting better about going outside- until the May flies arrive!
I buy junk food because my family members eat it and then, of course, so do I. I could go without ever eating a potato chip. I like pickles and olives with my sandwich. I buy bacon occasionally to make weekend breakfasts and end up eating most of it while I cook it! Not good. I never drink soda- unless I get the urge for a Jack & Coke. I make meals like tuna casserole and mac & cheese because everyone will eat it, so of course I eat it too. I love fish and seafood, but my family likes beef, pork and chicken. So I make what they like and eat very little of the meat myself.
Beer. I like it and I drink it and I refuse to feel guilty about it! I do know that it adds calories and if I really wanted to cut them big time I could give it up. Hey, I'm not that fat.

I keep in the house: bananas, apples, almonds, Cranberry Juice (the real stuff, not Ocean Spray), V-8, Wheat Thins (not totally good for you, but better than chips), 1percent milk (I could do skim, but not them), good quality canned soup (I like Woolfgang Puck), beans such as kidney, pinto, etc. (they make a good substitute for meat), frozen vegetables, fresh onions, butternut squash, whole garlic, whole wheat bread (Arnolds), tuna, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (plain, to add what I want).

Don't forget the green tea (Earl Grey is my favorite kind, sweetened with honey). Here are 7 good reasons to drink at least a cup a day. 7 REASONS TO DRINK GREEN TEA

I read somewhere that after giving up certain foods for 4-6 months, the urge to eat them goes away. In my experience, I find this to be true. We don't have to be a slave to our cravings forever!

Eat a half of a sandwich for lunch, or just have a banana.

Don't starve yourself. You have to eat the good things to have a healthy brain, heart and everything else.

Don't feel guilty about the junk you do eat.

Feeling bad is worse than eating it!

A Grateful Heart

2008-02-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

How many times do you see all the things that others have and feel sorry for yourself or envy their way of life? It's easy to do when you have very little. Just driving past a little house and seeing a woman working in her garden can bring pangs of jealousy when you don't even have a home to call your own. Watching children run and play seems unfair when your child is in a wheelchair. Listening to tales of tropical vacations or trips to the mountains is only depressing to the ones who can barely pay the heating bills. But what if we train ourselves to look at life in a different way. I used to think that there had to be losers in this world in order for the winners to know who they were! But what if the "losers" are really the encouragers? If we look at the down and out as the strong ones who continue to persevere in spite of the hopeless outlook we see for them, then shouldn't the "winners" be encouraged? I tell you, there may come a time when you will change places. Never say never. I have a friend who is dying. She has struggled for many years with a degenerative nerve/muscle disease that has caused her to fall over 75 times in her short life. She has been living on medication and with pain for a long time and has decided to surrender. She has helped to change my outlook and made a great impact on my way of thinking. I get out of bed in the morning on my own; I stand and walk without pain; I can drive to the store and buy groceries and even carry them up the stairs without help. I can hike in the woods with my son and go skating on the lake. My body is able to do many things -even things I don't look forward to- and I am healthy at the moment so I am grateful. I see the beautiful, blue sky and the mountains, trees, and birds and even though I have many troubles, I will be thankful for the awesome and good things I have. God has given me another day and it is my obligation to make the most of this gift.

St. Paddy's Day T-Shirts

2008-02-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

These are fun t-shirt designs!

For more visit holiday_tshirts

Yarn Fun

2008-02-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

I learned to crochet when I was a teenager and my mother tried to get me to knit as well, but I found it to be too complicated, so I stuck with crocheting. Then I moved to the South. It was so hot most of the time that I never even thought about picking up a crochet hook and having a bunch of yarn in my lap, so for many years I forgot about that hobby. Once I was back living in the North, I soon found that many people around me not only loved to knit and crochet, but they had sheep and roving and did spinning and stuff that I'd never heard of. Apparently this hobby had grown or maybe I just never realized how many people enjoyed it. We took a little vacation to Stowe, VT and drove up and hiked Mount Mansfield and lo and behold there was a woman in the parking lot knitting! She must not have been in the mood for a hike and decided to wait for the family and finishing a sweater- or something. I was amazed. Then my daughter and son began telling me stories of kids "finger knitting" in class and in the lunchroom and hallways of the school-- even boys!!! I was amazed again. I saw people knitting at the local beach in summer and at town meetings and just about everywhere, so I dug out my old hooks and needles. I have some old knitting needles that belonged to my mother and grandmother and kept them as mementos but I started to see the connection and decided to sign up for knitting lessons at "The Wool Room" near my home. A lovely woman named Anne ran the shop (and lives in the house) and gave the lessons and I made a hat on circular needles along with another woman who came too. Anne reminded me of my grandmother and her shop was so homey and comfortable that I could have moved in. My finished hat was pretty ugly, but I had fun making it and I ended up shopping there for more beautiful yarn to make scarves--my specialty! I now alternate between crocheting and knitting but still find crocheting the easiest and the best for fixing mistakes. However, I do love the many beautiful knitting patterns and projects and I even bought the "Knitting for Dummies" book to help me understand the basics. I still only make scarves and the occasional crocheted hat, but I believe that it's all experience and maybe one day I'll dare to try a mitten or sock or sweater!! Yikes!! If you like to make yarn projects and especially afghans, please check out "Project Linus" and find out how you can help make a difference in a life in your area by donating a handmade blanket. By the way, I've found that working with yarn and needles while watching television in the evening keeps me from getting the munchies so if you need to curb your evening appetite you might give it a try!

A Good Pie

2008-02-22T14:02:00.000-05:00

Fellow blogger, Full Time in NM, is running a pie contest on her Blog site and this is my entry. If you have a great recipe, I urge you to enter as well. You can win a prize! But even if you don't win, you might find a delicious new pie recipe to try. I do not like peanut butter food. I like peanut butter, but not mixed in with other stuff. Except for peanut butter cookies and this Peanut Butter Pie, I seldom eat the stuff. If you don't like a strong peanut butter taste, then you just might like this pie. Peanut Butter Pie Crust: 1 1/4 Cups chocolate cookie crumbs. (I use about 15-20 oreos crushed) 1/4 Cup sugar 1/4 Cup butter, or margarine Filling: 1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 1 Cup creamy peanut butter 1 Cup sugar 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup heavy cream, whipped Grated chocolate or chocolate cookie crumbs, optional Combine crust ingredients; press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Cool. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. fold in whipped cream. Gently spoon into crust. Garnish with chocolate or cookie crumbs if desired. Refrigerate. 8-10 servings.

The Downside

2008-02-18T14:24:00.000-05:00

If you read my last blog about visiting the pretty horse farm and saw all that gorgeous white snow everywhere, then you might be surprised at what a difference a day makes up here in New England. They have a saying here that if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. Today I don't like it. Sunday we visited the farm and today, Monday, it is rainy and in the forties. The warmth makes for tons of fog -because of all the snow- and very difficult to drive in some areas because of very low visibility. But the worst part of today, and any rainy day in the winter, is the water on top of the ice.

This morning my son had yet another school delay. When the bus came, the driver couldn't go any further than my house as the road beyond me is not paved and the town apparently hadn't come to put sand down. So after she picked up my son she proceeded to back all the way down the road. I don't know where she turned around, but the 2 kids who live on the dirt part of the road were out of luck I guess!
My son had to walk on the edge of the driveway in the snow- which was hard and slippery, but not nearly as bad as the driveway- just to get out to the bus. The driveway here is just large stones and since it is unpaved it's impossible to clear completely of snow. Then the weather warms up, or it rains, and I have a skating rink out there!
I am in a rental and the landlord comes and plows me out and has his buddy put sand down, but the stuff this morning was deadly.

And the other fun thing is the fact that my garage and basement are flooding. Can't wait to see what happens in the Spring. All this snow has to go somewhere. Glad I have a kayak!

Horses

2008-02-16T16:46:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my daughter got a job at a horse barn here in New Hampshire. She works hard feeding the horses, cleaning out the stalls and putting them out in the pastures three days a week.

Today I went with her to pick up her paycheck and got a few pics of the horses. Her boss rides in competitions all over the country I guess and my daughter should have a chance to ride one day soon--just for fun--a perk! She was given a bonus in her last paycheck to help buy a helmet so now she is ready.

When she was younger, I drove her to horseback riding lessons for years and spent a good 2-3 hours sitting at the barn waiting for her to be done. She had to tack up, have the hour long lesson, and then brush and hose off the horse (on the hot days, which meant almost all in FL) and I enjoyed seeing the horses and watching her improve and eventually do some jumping. She loved it, but the expense became too much, so if she can ride for "free" at this place, that would be really nice.

Anyway, this farm is on the top of a hill and it was very cold there today. A lot of snow had slid off the roofs and it just seemed like they had tons of it, but I guess we have the same here, just fewer piles! As you can see, the view from this window in the barn is blocked by all the white stuff.

One horse chews on his tongue...kinda strange!

Butterfly

2008-02-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

I just had to show off these gorgeous pictures.

I am especially attracted to butterfly images because my father-in-law calls my daughter "Butterfly" so it has become her nickname.

I don't know how these images are done....too advanced for my little brain....but they are beautiful!

If you love them and want to see more just click on the pics.

All designs are by FairyWoods

Earthbound! Mousepad Rising Dawn. Card

Moon Struck, magnet

Fairy Tales, mousepad

Snow, Rain, Ice, Sleet

2008-02-13T10:13:00.001-05:00

Today I woke up to 10 inches of overnight snow on the ground and sleet hitting the windows. Another "snow day" for my son and I am wondering if this child will ever have to attend a full week of school.

Since December he has had at least one day or half day off each week. A couple of days were holidays or teacher days (so the kids go home early), but many were delays or releases for the weather.

I am applying for a Substitute Teaching position in the school system here, but I wonder if I will have many chances to work! Oh, that's right I can work all summer....they won't be out till July at this rate!

Ahhhh...the northeastern winters.

I actually love the snow, but this rain is the pits. As long as I have a garage and don't have to spend an hour cleaning off my Tahoe just to go to work or the store, I can deal with it. I do almost all the shoveling and I have to get out there early so my little dog can get out to do his business. It's good exercise for me and one thing I noticed after moving north from Florida was how people up here seem to be in good shape. And you have to be just to live here! Lots of fatties in FL and why not...it's too hot to do a darn thing!!!

My daughter did have to head off to work this morning and it worried me a bit, but I think she is actually getting used to it.

She hated to drive when we lived in Florida but it's very different here in NH and I worry less about her. If her car broke down, most likely a nice person would stop to help her, not a killer. Other drivers would at least slow down and pull slowly around her instead of flying by at 60 like she wasn't even there-or worse, smash into her car! The person who stopped to help her would most likely speak English as well.

Okay, I got off subject there....it's white everywhere (I am talking snow) and the people are nice here and I love it!

Constant Tourist Season

2008-02-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

Having lived in Central Florida for 25 years I know the times of year to avoid huge crowds of motorcycle riders, holiday visitors, race fans, beach goers and theme park freaks. Just about now, which would be February, the central Florida area will be filling up with race fans as the Daytona 500 gets underway-this year on Sunday, Feb. 17th. 'Race Week' lasts pretty much all month to celebrate that event. Then you get into Spring Break and the college kids start pouring into Daytona and surrounding areas to party, and fall off of balconies at area hotels. Spring Break is different for different colleges so that goes on and on for a couple of months.

Bike Week starts the end of Feb. and goes into March officially, but if you live in Central Florida you will see loads of bikers all the way through March and then some. No one goes by the official date. I lived one mile from the Fox Head Bar in Osteen on state road 415 and that place was packed with bikers for weeks, but if you want to be a real part of Bike Week you must visit the official Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach to say you really were a part of it all. The Easter holiday brings lots of tourists and the theme parks usually have to close their gates due to being at full capacity by late morning. April weather is usually pretty nice in Florida, but it can still be hot. We had a screened in pool in the back yard and began to swim in it sometime in April when the water temp. was into the 70's. Never think that you can brave the summer heat and take the kiddies to Disney in July. Don't even expect to be able to stay on the beach for any length of time in the summer months. Even with a 25 sunscreen, I never spent more than 3 hours at a time on the beaches with my kids. By the way, you must use sunscreen!! The Florida sun is very different than the northern sun and you will burn terribly in a short amount of time. Don't go to Florida in the summer. I always thought that the best time of year to visit Florida was between the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas. December is a very nice month- as far a the weather goes- and the beginning of December is uneventful, which is the perfect time (in my opinion) to hit the parks and beaches. (The water is too cold in December to swim and there will be no lifeguards on duty, but it's still nice to walk the beach or visit the beachside restuarants -like the Sea Harvest and Breakers which are both in New Smyrna Beach). Florida will always be home to the perpetual tourists, but if you have a choice of when to visit, aim for the Fall- after hurricane season is over!

Future Racer or Fan

Hummingbird Photos

2008-02-05T10:03:00.000-05:00

I don't know the person who took these photos, but they are awesome! They were sent to me via e-mail and I just had to pass them along. Hummingbird Babies (Be sure to hit "next page" at the bottom of each page to see all the incredible photos.)