August 15th, 1913 - May 24th, 2011

It's been three years since I wrote this post and for some reason, at that time, I chose not to reveal it publicly, but my feelings that I had then are still appropriate, so I have decided to share it now.

I'm having a hard time starting this post. I've started and deleted it several times already and I suppose I just need to keep writing. The problem is, it was a family event where we all gathered together and it was good to be with everyone as some we had not seen in a very long time, but the reason for the reunion was a funeral.

My husbands grandmother passed away this week, I had made a blog post about her a year ago February. She was 97 years old and had 8 children, 25 grandchildren over 44 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.

She was a very pivotal point of the family as you can imagine.  In this family all roads led to Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma and Great-Great Grandma, What a legacy has been accomplished through her life!

She was as sharp as a tack right up until the end.

Where there was always food in some form. I remember not wanting to let her know I was visiting because she would insist on cooking a meal, and not that I minded her cooking at all, especially the chewies, but I didn't want her to go out of her way for me. And when this was brought up to her she acted as if what she was doing was nothing. And I suppose with having raised and fed 10 people, preparing a little pot roast for lunch would have seemed like nothing! 

It's funny how the busyness of life can consume you and the excuses make perfect sense at the time... and I do regret not making more time to visit with her, but at the same time I am also very thankful for time that I did have.

You are greatly missed Grandma.

August 15th, 1913 - May 24th, 2011

Throwback Thursday!

And this goes back toooooo ... I think 1993? 

I obviously didn't take this picture as that is me in the middle getting ready to scarf down something yummy! We all wore hats, can you tell?

We were at our friend Jodie's wedding shower and my daughter, Madison, is the beautiful young girl sitting next to me. Awwwww! Look how little we both were! heh heh heh  

And that my friends, was the most beautiful, lovely, romantic and fun shower I have ever been to! 

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Wordless Wednesday - EYE SEE U!

heh heh heh

OooOOOoOOOHHH!

♪ I was looking back to see

 if you were looking back to see

 if I was looking back to see

 if you were looking back at meeeeeeeee!! ♫

That's an oldie but a goodie!

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*Wordless Wednesday is a misnomer as in my case, I can never manage to keep from saying something! hehe!

Throwback Thursday

Oh this blonde headed little boy

The sweet joy of a mother's heart

His beautiful angelic face

Bathed in radiant morning light

Wears the hint of an impish grin

 Circa 1992

 that pleads "I wanna take a pitcha"

Hehe Ü

And a chewed up Jammie Shirt!

Love you my son ♥

Wordless Wednesday

Kung Fu Panda strikes again! 

Heh Heh Heh! 

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I'm on the Map! (Hopefully!)

I just received a call from google maps... and in in case you were wondering, google maps doesn't sound at all like siri, as she's a she and google maps is a he and he speaks with a strong Indian accent Ü.

I was hoping to get the address for my business straightened out on google+ which uses google maps, as no matter how many times I change it to say North Rd it changes back to old Rockville Rd and that is not my address!

We'll see if this works. I'm not too hopeful though as I believe there was something lost in googles English to Hindi translation of my answer to his question of owning a storefront. 

My reply? "A storefront? But I don't have a storefront you mean like as in a store that sells things? I'm not a store but my business is in my home, and I have a studio and my studio is in my homefront not a storefront!" 

After he heard that he didn't say anything else except, सब कुछ है सब तय की और देखभाल... so like I said we'll see!

Mine Don't Stink

Everything's coming out up roses!

We were due. So we scheduled to have our septic cleaned out, which in this case the term 'clean' is used very loosely! 

:-P 

It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it and I for one, am very grateful for the folks over at Richard Whites and Son's (Hi Rob and Kathy! *waves*) for the service they provide, as I'm sure a lot of other home owners in our region with septic systems are also, 'cause let me tell ya, there was a whole lot of bran muffins in there before they came!

These guys have some super heavy duty vacuums, eh?

I'll spare ya a look on the inside, in case you're eating lunch or something ;-)

I was surprised as it didn't take more than a few minutes before he had all the hatches battened down again and was  back on his way to his next assignment.  

The mission of the unsung superhero saving innocent neighborhoods from villainous odorous effluence.

Heh heh!

Just Keepin' it Real Folks

Just Keepin' it Real!

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Throwback Thursdays

Ahhhh, green grass and freshly painted tootsies!

Taken April 13, 2011, we were in Washington State (living on the East coast you always need to clarify which Washington you are referring to).
It was my mommies birthday isn't she so cute!

 I Love her so much! Anyway us girls had all gone out to get a pedicure.

We had so much fun... some of us more than others hehe!

The shop had just opened and we got to use the brand new massage chairs. They massaged every part of your body from your ankles to your neck and every place in between.

And I do mean everyplace in between, to say the least, it was a very, Very strange experience if not downright violating! 

We were all 'cracking' up over the 'buttock massage' hehehe! 

Thank God we could shut that part of the massage off otherwise we may never have ended up with these pretty piggies.

 Can you guess whose feet are whose? 

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Wordless Wednesdays

HeeeeeelllllOOOOO!!!

Heh heh heh

Even though this is a Wordless Wednesday She is begging for a caption

I Think He was Happy to see Me, Don't You? Ü

I went for a walk in the woods behind our house and Clifford didn't know where I had gone and so came looking for me.

This is what he looked like when he finally found me...

If only he could talk, I would love to know what that expression is saying? lol 

Oh how I Love my sweet Old Boy

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One Liners... Ü

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October Beach Days

We had a really warm day this past week and we decided to take this, most likely last, opportunity to spend it at the beach.

So we packed up and went but it was actually rather blustery when we got there and the waves were really rough and because tourist season ended ... there was no hunting allowed... heh heh heh... Just Kidding! But off-season the beach is practically empty except for a few fellow locals, so there are No life guards on duty which meant there was to be No swimming this day!

So,I just sat in my chair all bundled up with towels watching Webster digging his huge pit and piling up his Sand of Gibraltar, as he affectionately called it, and relaxed.

I began thinking of the amazing the difference between seasons here, the transformation between the hustling, bustling crowds that were here just a few short weeks ago and how now the beach is barren and practically deserted... and it was about then that I noticed this little guy only a few feet from me.

I thought what a difference for him it must be also between the congested snack packing, chip dropping, crumb leaving crowds of summer and the placid desolated sands of now... I wondered where do the crowds of seagulls go? Do they migrate with the tourists? Do they *gasp* all starve to death?? Was this poor little thing left behind to fend for himself?!? I watched as he paced forlornly about in front of me.

He did look hungry. Then remembering that Noah did pack a snack, I leaned over and fetched the box of Ritz crackers and retrieved a sleeve and opened it and tossed the cracker in the direction of the forlorn bird who immediately sprang into action and gobbled it down... he then proceeded to screech a seagully cry of satisfaction as if in gratitude for my generous gift! Ü So feeling pretty pleased with myself, I tossed him another to which I heard the same seagully crys... but this time they weren't just coming from him but from also behind me. It would seem we had company stopping in for dinner!

So I tossed a few more crackers.

And a few more showed up.

And so I tossed a few more crackers...

you see where this is heading eh?

I have since come to the conclusion that seagulls are amongst the worlds most elusive shape shifters, as it would seem, unbeknownst to me, that the same gully cry of gratitude were also a beacon call to any friends and family within earshot who must have been disguising themselves as grains of sand as they seemed to have come from from everywhere and out of nowhere at once!

It was a grand and marvelous (and slightly scary) sight to see as they flocked in from all directions around me.

So... I tossed them a few more crackers. Ü

It was causing quite a scene and those who were there that day were stopping to watch. And Webster came running to get in on the feeding frenzy. So I relinquished cracker duty to him and handed him the package ... he emptied what was left of that sleeve so I handed him another.

Then he started tossing them up high into the air and letting the wind take them, he loved watching as the gulls would swoop and dive in flight.

And they were beautiful...

and because it was so breezy they would hover seemingly effortless in the air without ever having to flap their wings,

just soaring a few feet above me,

I could have reached up and touched them if I had been so inclined to do so...

but I was not inclined to do so.

But it did give me an idea... I suggested that Webster hold out his hand with a cracker to see if one would take it from him.

to which he did...

and it worked! *snicker* Hehehehe ... Bah-hahahahaha!!!

His face is precious and his expression is priceless!

But he lived and realized that this was actually a really fun thing to do and went through the last sleeve of crackers!

But then.... a feeling of doom came over me

and I clutched the empty box of Ritz to my chest and gasped...

I thought to myself, 'What have I done?'as from behind us the sky darkened and a Huge flock of Big black birds crested the dune and flew directly over the group of gulls and ourselves...

But I let out a big sigh of relief and loosened my grip on the box when I realized these were only  comorants, a diving, fish eating sea bird not a cracker eating one... which was a very good thing because of there being no more crackers left! 

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A Rare Visitor...

So, this past Sunday afternoon, I was blessed to see a very rare visitor to my flower garden. I was inside the house when I butterfly caught my eye. I could tell from the shape and flight pattern that it was some kind of swallowtail. So I grabbed my camera and ran outside to get photos so that I could identify the species later as I had never seen it before except that it was reminiscent some tropical species I had seen at a butterfly conservatory I had visited a while back.  It only stayed in my garden a short time before moving on and I am so very glad that I happened to see it when I did otherwise I could have missed it entirely!

The species is called the Giant Swallowtail and is mostly seen in southern states and Florida where the caterpillar can be a pest as it feeds on citrus trees! A far cry from the trees that grow around here!

The flowers it was sipping on were Zinnias

And as it was flying away it visited some white cosmos and this Rose of Sharon

I was thrilled to have been a spectator, and blessed for the opportunity to photograph the moment and am glad that this rare butterfly found my little patch of heaven to nourish it on it's journey to warmer climates ... Personally, I'm beginning to think this may have been a sign from God giving me direction, telling me I need to be like this butterfly and migrate to warmer climes for the winter... heh heh heh 

Ü 

You Dirty Rat...

So last night Webster went out to lock the chickens up and comes back in and tells me one chicken wouldn't go in and he didn't know where it went.... ??? Grrrr... so I get the spot light and go out with him to find the missing chicken. I first wanted to take a head count inside the coop hoping that perhaps Webster just missed seeing it go inside somehow.
So I'm at the door shining the light in when I suddenly see a small furry head bob up in one of the hen stations, look at me with it's beady little eyes and in less time than my mind allowed me to interpret the scene, it swiftly scurried down the boards to the floor where it bounded towards the doorway where I was standing between it and  it's freedom... *cups hand to ear and listens* Interesting... I believe I am still hearing echoes of my bellowing scream? heh heh heh

Ü

One Liners... Ü

Guess?

The Contest is Over!
Roseann correctly guessed it was Garlic!
Congrats Roseann!






Attention: I have updated this post by adding a couple of more pictures and a hint at the bottom, so scroll down to see the update!


I remember watching a TV movie called Skylark many years ago. It was based on a book by the same name that was written by Patricia Maclachlan and was one of a series of 5 books including Sarah Plain and Tall.  

 One of the things that stuck with me from that movie was the scene where the family dog is being introduced to Sarah and she asks what the dogs name is and is told Guess. And so she guesses... and guesses... and guesses again, not realizing that the dogs name was Guess!

And it seems, I am always remembering that when ever I hear someone say, "Guess?"
And the reason why I am telling you this now is because I'm asking the question of you!


Can you Guess?

As I was going about my farmly chores recently of harvesting such things as strawberries...

And lavender...

and this stuff...

 When I thought to myself... Hmmm? I wonder if anyone could guess what these things are? 

So then I thought, wouldn't it be fun to not only have people guess but to make it an unofficial
1st ever Bountiful Blessing Farm Contest* 
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And what's a contest if there isn't a prize?

So, to the first person to guess correctly what the green things are that I am holding in my hand in these pictures, will be given (or sent depending on where you live) a $10.00 personalized Bountiful Blessings Farm Dunkin Donuts gift card! 


How Sweet is that? Literally even! You can get yourself something sweet and yummy for your tummy!

If you are the winner, you can choose (or I will choose for you) a critter from our farm or flowers from my garden or some such other thing found here at our homestead to personalize your card with.

Here's an example of what your card could look like using a picture of our Ducks

I love my ducks ♥

But the picture could be of any other variety of the Flora or Fauna found on our Farm-a.


You be the first to provide the correct answer and I'll provide the picture and the card.
Easy peasy!

So then... Do you care to give it a Guess?

For the sake of simplicity, and to keep guesses in one place, please go to our 
Bountiful Blessings facebook page
and leave your guess in the comments section under the link to this post

And I will contact the winning guesser to set up the card details.


So there you have it!

Happy Guessing!

*You do have to live in the USA

(and preferably for you, near a DD Ü)

I would add something like, 'no close relatives or friends may enter this contest' but I doubt any of my close relatives or friends could guess correctly anyway (and you know who you all are!) so, hehehehe... go for it!

Ü


Funny, because my one concern of doing this contest was that it would be very short lived, meaning I envisioned the first person to see it saying, "Oh, I know what those are!" and guess them first thing and then the contest would have been over... which would have been alright but I'd hoped for a little bit of suspense and mystery along the way.
Heh heh heh!


Well, I guess it's working!


Everyone is in suspense at the mysterious greenery suspended from my hand but no one has been able to guess correctly yet. 
So, I thought I would add a couple of more pictures that show more of what I am holding.

And perhaps give you an extra clue... 


These are not the main harvest but rather an edible by product

Any more guesses?