When A Blog Disappears

I don't mean when Blogger is having problems. I mean when you go to check out a blog you read and, in this case, WordPress gives you this message: The authors have deleted this blog. The content is no longer available. What is one to think? Is something wrong? Have they moved to a new blog? A new state? No, that wouldn't matter in blogland. Why no forwarding address and most importantly, why no explanation? Of course, paranoid folks like myself wonder if something scary happened. Did someone make rude or frightening comments (this was a family's blog with pictures of their beautiful children). I just want to know if everything is okay. I didn't check this blog daily but fairly regularly, and I don't think I missed a post where they said were going offline. Don't their readers (me) deserve some sort of farewell post? It's funny how I feel like I need closure over a "missing" blog. Oh well, maybe I'll find them out there again someday...

It is July!

July

When the scarlet cardinal tells
Her dream to the dragonfly,
And the lazy breeze makes a nest in the trees,
And murmurs a lullaby,
It is July.

When the tangled cobweb pulls
The cornflower's cap awry,
And the lilies tall lean over the wall
To bow to the butterfly,
It is July.

When the heat like a mist veil floats,
And poppies flame in the rye,
And the silver note in the streamlet's throat
Has softened almost to a sigh,
It is July.

When the hours are so still that time
Forgets them, and lets them lie
'Neath petals pink till the night stars wink
At the sunset in the sky,
It is July.

by Susan Hartley Swett

*sigh* I found this poem in the 1967 Childcraft The How and Why Library which I believe came with a set of World Book encyclopedias my grandparents bought. As a child, I loved these books, and when we finally gave away the encyclopedias, I could not bear to part with these. I believe it is a set of fifteen volumes. This one is the Poems and Rhymes volume. Don't you love the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe illustration? I know just how she feels. Hooray for "vintage" books!

If you'd like to read a blog entry that will take you straight to a summer day at the lake/river, go here and Blue Yonder will take you there. Happy July!

A Little Good Stuff

A few things that are making me smile. This sign on my neighbors' mailbox:
I think that's a deal for fresh eggs, and as a gal who helped her brother run an egg business (picture an eight year-old pedaling her pink bike with a couple of dozen eggs in her little plastic-flower-decorated basket), I want to support the two boys who are behind this enterprise (which includes a blog and home-delivery). After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I've been buying range-free, cage-free eggs, so to buy some from right down the street is even better!

Then there's this fabric I bought for half-off! I thought it was too cute to pass up (and Mel got really excited about it).
Sorry for the poor picture quality, and for the placement. I've been having a harder time than normal moving my pictures around in posts (must speak to IT aka C).

This evening I am headed to a knitting class. Looking forward to learning new skills and making something for myself with said new skills! Also, looking forward to asking a few questions on some WIPs I have.





Lastly, I am awaiting several packages (and who doesn't love packages? we've discussed this here before). One is the above book Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy (underline isn't working today either by the way, but it will underline a link it seems). I saw this book mentioned on BluebirdBaby's blog (sorry no link, pressed for time here). It's about gardening with children, and since the boys have recently discovered the fun of the water hose, I thought it might be beneficial. Another package will be bringing some fabric


It's called Fortune Sea by Anna Maria Horner, sigh, isn't it lovely?

Friii-i-day In The Park

I think it was the 3rd of July...

We took the boys to a park today since C was off work. C and H played miniature golf, and H got a hole-in-one! We even let W take a few hits on the last hole. It was fun! The weather here has been beee-yooo-ti-ful, but today took the cake! 77 degrees at noon on July 3rd and crazily not humid?! Unheard of around here. Sorry, if anyone from Maine is reading this I know some of the bloggers I read who reside there have been bemoaning constant rain. After the park, we went to a local deli restaurant and ate outside. Yes, even C. You know the weather must be nice if we talked him into sitting outside. He does not like heat. Then we came home, and I spent way too much time on Fabricworm dreaming... Hope everyone has a great 4th of July. I think we may try to catch a parade and watch some fireworks from afar.

Coincidence?

Last Tuesday, I asked C if after dinner he wanted to take the boys by a local John Deere place to see a huge tractor they had out front. C had taken a picture of it to show the boys earlier, and I thought it would be a nice way to get out of the house for a bit. As we were yielding to traffic, I saw the above car. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's an old Plymouth Valiant. My dad had one. Actually, my mom bought the "old Val," as the car was known, brand new in 1965 for about $2,000.00.

After my parents married, it became my dad's, and he drove it until it wouldn't drive any more. I sat in it on cold mornings with neighborhood kids waiting on the bus, I rode to school in it in junior high. It wasn't cool or even retro with its push button radio (push the button, the little dial flew to the next station). The paint was chipping off terribly on the front. A brick had been thrown at its side. Still, I didn't mind. It was like your ratty old comfy pants. Daddy did have the engine rebuilt after it "wouldn't drive any more," and then it was our Sunday-afternoon-drive car. By then, I was old enough to appreciate what the car meant to my dad, still I did manage to drag the right front bumper of my second car along its side one night, leaving a nice black line. I went right in and 'fessed up, even though the friend with me urged me to "tell him when we got back." Then, something went wrong with that engine, and the old Val never rode again. After my father's death, we ended up having the car towed away, but not before I asked C to take out the glove compartment door.
Yep, white with red interior!

I always thought the glovebox was neat with its little spot for your drink to sit and nice surface to sit your burger and fries on at the drive-in or a place with car hops bringing your food.


So, when I saw that car on the road Tuesday, on the fifth anniversary of my daddy's death, I didn't think, what a coincidence. I thought, thanks, Daddy, I miss you, too, every. single. day.Drive on...

Out with the Old

New blog layout to pep me up for the Fourth of July. Although, I'm probably more pepped about Hancock Fabric's 5 Simplicity patterns for $5 sale coming up later this week! Book club was Friday. The peach cobbler didn't even make it through the night after C had a bowl. Target's white sangria in a box, don't laugh at the box, is yummy. We emptied the box and another bottle of wine. Sounds like a good book club to me! However, Thursday (the day before book club) was a cluster. I realized I didn't tell my mom I was doubling a recipe. So, she cut some celery for me and then shared the rest with her husband while I was at the grocery. So, another trip to the grocery. I knocked over a box of dry macaroni, all over the floor. I broke one of my great-grandmother's dessert bowls (I've ordered a replacement, fingers crossed it will really match). Friday wasn't a whole lot better. I chipped paint off our bookshelf and put a dent in our table with the can of furniture polish. I was literally afraid to wash my serving dishes for fear of destroying them. Just call me Danger-prone Daphne. Maybe it's because I was all stressed about getting everything done?

So,I am sort of glad to see June go. It's been such a busy month for me. It's flown by, but I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy the summer, to do some fun stuff with the boys. It seems every week has been preparation for the weekend. And C's summer classes? They are taking a toll on all of us. Our yard needs mowing, we are trying to get everything cleaned for the window installation folks (yes, new windows, finally!), our garage and closet need to be cleaned out, and the list goes on. So, as I wave farewell to June, I am trying to just slow down and welcome a slower-paced July.

Funny things heard around here:
H: What are those bugs, Mom?
Me: Lightening bugs.
H: They are flashing their tail lights at us.

Me: What are we going to do with that little brother?
H: Throw him away?

Secret Life of Grime

With my turn to host book club coming up (next Friday!), I am getting ready to do some pretty deep cleaning. If I am to be honest, this is the only time my kitchen gets the good cleaning it needs (cabinet doors wiped clean, baseboards, chair rails, the works). So, I was wondering if I am the only person who has specific spots that I clean, that I wonder if others clean. I am a germophobe but not a neat freak at all. When I am in others' homes, I am looking at their decor, particularly the walls, as I tend to go bare-walled compared to others, not how clean their houses appear. However, there are a few specific places I do look at and wonder, "have they cleaned that?" Today, I was cleaning one of those: the ice and water dispenser on the refrigerator. It can really get disgusting, especially if you have really hard water (like we do). I also really like to get that cover on the bottom of the refrigerator clean (I guess I have a thing about refrigerator cleanliness). I know some of the things that often can be overlooked like the ceiling fan blades and picture frames, but what are some other grimy spots that you notice? I want to make sure I hit 'em all!