Livin' in the land down under...

Of all our children, our oldest daughter, Ashley, had our vote for "Most Likely to Live in the Same Town All Her Life" Award.

Well, we couldn't have been more off target.  Since going to college, she has lived in Provo, Dallas, Seattle, back to Dallas, Philadelphia, Bogota (yes, Colombia), and again to Dallas.

For their next big adventure, they are heading to Perth, Australia!!  Who would have ever thought it??

Now, as the mama of this wonderful girl, I have to report on my progress...

When she was first married, the thought of her moving so far away would have sent me into all manner of panic attacks, and worriedness, and even just plain sadness that she would be so far away.

But 7 years into her great married adventure, I am happy to say that I am so excited for her and her family.  I have a feeling that having her move so many times, to places far away and may I say, dangerous in one case, has made me a little more open to her adventures, and maybe the opportunity of a few of my own!!

So, I say, bring on Australia!  It will be far, it will be hard to communicate (there is a 15 hour time difference), but it will be fun, and new, and it is something that they have been wanting to do for a while, and here is there chance, so who am I to throw water on their exciting plans!!

But, should I get to visit, please don't be surprised and/or offended if I pass on the vegimite sandwich!  ;)

Another Garden Post

Yesterday when I went out to pick the garden, I realized that I had some beautiful flowers going in my yard.  Not the fact that I didn't realize this until now, gives away my lack of involvement in the flower department this year, but despite my neglect, there are a few pretty ones to share.

We tried some pots in the shade and this dragonwing begonia really stands out.  Much better than the other begonia behind it, the alyssum that didn't make it through the summer and the coleus which you can see if you peer at the left side of the pot intently.

This is my miracle sunflower.  When I was weeding the garden earlier in the summer, I accidentally pulled out the young plant.  I quickly replanted it, but it wilted as a newly yanked out plant would.  But wonder of wonders...it survived.  Although it is small and bloomed later than the few other sunflowers in the garden, I enjoy it everytime I get out there to pick the garden.

Same plant, just a close up.  I love how the sun lights up the petals.

Orange zinnias and purple osteospernum.  What a happy combo.  The zinnias are volunteer from last year, and the osteospernum is an annual I stuck in the ground in the early summer.  I love the way they look together.

A close up of an aster that isn't the prettiest one in the patch, surrounded by weeds.  Beautiful or not, it is supplying pollan and nectar for this bee.  The circle of life...we are all connected to each other...any other Disney song you would like to insert that applies.  :)

Fall is my favorite for many reasons, and it just occured to me that one big reason may be that the temperature is more conducive to actually spending time outdoors, and giving me a chance to enjoy our yard.

Today I have something to say...

yesterday, I did not.  Hence, no blog post.  It was late when
Kristin had me help her with learning Latin American countries and capitals, and I realized when it was time to blog that I had nothing rattling around in my head to blog about!  I decided that rather than just rambling about nothing, I could feel good about skipping a day and spare whoever is reading this a dull, stupid blog post.  You are welcome!!  :)

But today, I had several different thoughts.  Should I blog about books I have read lately?  Should I blog about the class I signed up for at Big Picture Classes that has been eliciting all kinds of memories from my childhood?  No, I thought I would leave those for another time and revisit my good friends of late, summer squash!!

We are having a potluck for our RS Meeting tonight, with the main dish being this ridiculously easy pulled pork recipe.  The pork is being made by others and we are also supposed to bring a dessert or side dish, and as I still have more summer squash than I can possibly use before the next wave comes, I decided to make this recipe.

It is a good one.  I modify it a bit, as I never have radishes.  When I have tons of summer squash, I also have tons of cucumbers, so I put in a cup of julienned cucumbers and a cup of chopped onion (preferably a Walla Walla Sweet).  You will note that my "sticks" of veggies are nowhere close to uniform in size.  If I had a mandoline, I am sure it would look much better.  My limited experience with a mandoline left me missing a small chunk of my pinkie, so I choose to take a little extra time to cut them with a knife, and risk having them non-uniform.  (As if there is even a chance that they will be uniform!!  ;)

Btw - before I started this blog experiment, I had no idea how to get from my blog to a link using a word or phrase.  I'm sure for most others, this is common knowledge and you are at this moment rolling your eyes at this.  But...I am pretty excited that I figured it out all by myself.  I didn't even have to Google it!  Kudos to me!!

Try the salad if you so feel inclined and/or have a kitchen counter being overrun by green and yellow vegetables.  I think you'll like it.  (Here is a funny thing relating to zucchini - when I was buying Amber some food to get her started at school, she wanted a zucchini!!!  It took a little cajoling for me to actually pay money for one knowing what I had waiting for me at home!  As a mom, how could I turn down a request that included a vegetable???)

All the kids are teenagers now (or have been one in the past)

I started a tradition of hanging a sign on our house when each of the girls turned 13.  Living 2 blocks from the jr. high school, I loved the thought that when their friends walked home, they would see the sign and know it was their birthday.

Well, having a child with a summer birthday shot a hole in that tradition.  In the middle of July, the only people who walk by our house are those who are out for a morning walk/run/stroll.  The fact that Trev was at Scout Camp the week of his birthday only complicated things.  

Of course, I still wanted his picture with his sign to complete my collection, so even though this was taken about a month after his birthday, it is still accurate, and solves my dilemma.  Win/win.

Everyone knows the sterotypical teenage girl...I won't even go into detail about that.  I didn't really know what to expect from a teenage boy so all I can say is it is a new adventure.  Sometimes a pretty wild and loud one, but being the great kid that he is, we'll keep him!!

The raisin project - Day 18

We have had grapes down the side of our yard for many years.  The past few years they have really taken off, and this is the second year we had so many we could make grapes.  I do find it very ironic that they have finally become so prolific as the number of people living in our home is shrinking!!!

This year, John made a trellis so 1) the neighbor's horses wouldn't eat the grapes, and 2) the grapes would hang down and make it easier to pick the bunches.  The trellis is a great success!!  Unfortunately, it was a BAD year for wasps and they were as eager to get to our grapes as we were.  They ate a lot, and consequently, we picked the rest of the grapes before they were completely ripe.  Through the process of dehydrating them, though, they do become sweet and tasty.  

Ready to be washed and picked off the stems...
These will make some delicious golden raisins.

On the trays, waiting to go into the dehydrator.  I'm not going to lie.  Picking them off the stems is a mindless, boring job, made much easier by a good movie!!

In the dehydrator.
Here is a funny thing.  When I was looking at this picture on my camera, sans reading glasses, I couldn't figure out where I would have taken a picture of a black plaque with green lettering on it!!  (My eye dr. husband will not find that amusing!!  :)

One of the finished trays.  I did 2 full batches this year.  18 total trays.

Ready to be put into quart jars...

The finished product on the pantry shelves. We have 13 1/2 quarts this year.
We won't think about how many quarts the wasps got!  

There and back again...(but I am not a Hobbit)

The big trip is over, I am back home, Amber is in her new "home", and its time to adjust to 4 people living in our home (Kristin tried to set the table with 5 plates tonight :(   But of course, its all good, and here is a quick summary of our BYU-I adventure...

I loved walking around the campus.  It reminded me a lot of BYU-Provo.  One of my favorite things is the conference center that holds 15,000 people.  It is amazing!!!

Unpacking!!!
 (I wonder if they ever consider making the closets just a little bigger in the girls' apartments??)

Dinner at Jimmie John's Sandwich shop.  Yummy bread!!!
Allison, Ryan, Amber and Andriana (Amber's roommate)

I was very happy the BYU-Utah game wasn't this week, as I'm certain Allison and Ryan wouldn't have been able to come see us!!  :)  But the game is next week, and they came, and it was great to have our newlyweds hanging out with us for the day!!  (Note - Students are not allowed to wear capris on BYU-I campus.  I knew this, but totally forgot, and the only pants I packed were capris!  Oops!!)

The beautiful Rexburg LDS Temple.  I got to attend twice - once with my friends, the Youngs, who put me up for the weekend, and once with Allison and Ryan!  There are stained glass windows on all every side and they have gold, green, and blue glass.  There is a wheat motif throughout the whole temple.  Really lovely!
Notice the "R" on the hill behind the temple...Amber said people hike that and its on her list of things to do.  I didn't even know there was an "R"!!

I loved this little bit of whimsy in front of the architecture building.

Amber and her roommie!! (You can just see the corner of her bed behind her.  This comforter wasn't her first choice, but as that one was sold out, she got this one (which wouldn't have happened without her Aunt Dawn!  Thank you, Aunt Dawn!!!).  She really loves this one though, and it looks very cute on her bed.

One final note - I wish so badly I had taken a picture of my friends, the Youngs.  I didn't think about it until this morning and I was pretty sure Lynnette didn't want me to take a picture of her in her robe, so I didn't even ask.  Shoot!! They lived in Lewiston for years, and moved to Rexburg about 4 years ago to be closer to family.  Of course, they love being close to family, but I know many people here really miss them, including our family!!  They were so good to me this weekend, and I loved spending time with them!!  

Off on an adventure...

It is finally here...the day to take amber to BYU-Idaho...tomorrow...it couldn't have been a day longer...
As it usually is before a trip, it has been a chaotic night, and its time to hit the hay, and get up bright and early and head out because as you may or may not know, Rexburg is quite a drive from our little hamlet.  In case you are wondering, there are 3 different routes to get there, and not one is preferred over the other.  I took an unofficial poll. It wasn't much help!
It will be pretty unlikely for me to blog while I am gone, so I will have to play catch up when I get back.  Just know that it will be a great adventure, and I may have a story or two to tell when I get back.
See ya!