I decided to take a quilting class a month or so ago.  I tried to sign up in Pecatonica but their classes don’t start until the middle of October.  I was at Jo-ann Fabrics trying to get a frame made for a poster that Addi had given me.  They have classes and there was going to be one the next Saturday.  Two and a half hours for $35.00.  I purchased my supplies needed and signed up for a sewing machine.

One of my gardening buddies was going to take the class with me but when she found out the cost of all the supplies, she backed out.  She said she was not really serious about quilting and apologized to me.  No problem!

I gathered up all my stuff and headed off to my quilting class yesterday.  I was so excited and worried that I had written down the wrong day or time.  But no, I made it to Jo-ann’s and sat down at the lovely brand new Singer sewing machine.  I told my instructor, Kay, that I was not familiar with these newfangled gadgets and she assured me that I could sew fine on this one.  She told me that her personal machine is from the 60’s.  I think mine is too.

My mother had sewed on a treadle sewing machine from the time I could remember.  She was always sewing.  She made clothes and aprons and all kinds of curtains and do dads for the house.

I believe she got her brand new electric sewing machine when I was in high school (That would have been the 60’s folks.)  She was so proud of it and took such good care of it.  My brother would always oil and clean it for her when he visited.  I don’t recall her ever taking it in to be repaired.  I take it bi-yearly for a clean-up and tune-up.   I just don’t do mechanical devises well.  She gave it to me when my father got her a new one in the 80’s.

Two other women had signed up for the class.  One of which is in my Pilates class.  Small town wonder!  The other reminded me of my cousin, Janet.  She had a lovely laugh and was quite pleasant to work next to.  Kay passed out our instruction sheets and we began by corrected two typos on the instructions.  One was measurement and one was how many pieces to cut of which color.

I cut all of my pieces and pressed everything nicely.  They had this kick-ass iron that was big and bulky but light as a feather.  It was on constantly.  Probably a newfangled gadget!

My first piece I sewed was backwards.  I had let Kay take it from my hands before I could check which side was right-side out.  I ripped out the seam and started again.  I got the hang of the sewing machine but never did get used to the tension bar being on the inside of the neck rather than on the back side.  And it had this nifty cutter on the side to cut your thread.

My little machine is going to be so jealous when I go back to it.  But I love it nevertheless.  It is simple and that is all I need for my personal needs of sewing.

I did not make a perfect match on a couple of the pieces but Kay assured me that the Amish who make the lovelies quilts in the world always put in a mistake because only God is perfect.  I had heard the story before and rest in assured grace that every quilt that I had made was far from perfect.

I have enough material to make one more square but I am going to make it tinier as I want to recover my hot pads.  They have all been recovered three times in the past.  Someday someone will rip apart my pot holders to find a history of quilt making by Smother.  Yeah right!

I am proud to come from two families and most of the ladies are quilt makers.  I someday hope to make one as lovely as theirs.  Thank you Aunt Reva, Aunt Ola, Aunt Imogene, Aunt Hazel and the others whom I did not know well enough to know if they quilted.

Today I am in retirement heaven.  The hubster went in to work today.  Yeah me!  I am alone in the house with the dog.  Rock concert is blasting and I just ate a whole cucumber without slicing it.  I’ve kept close watch on my cukes this year and eat them while still quite small.  They are delicious.

And back to the empty house of beauty and serene happiness, and contentment out the ass.  There is just something about being in your home by yourself, well the dog is here too but she is a joy.  Just sleeps most of the time or wants outside to lie in the sunshine.

I think I must be the queen of digression.  I just have so many thoughts going around in my head all the time and sometimes they just slip through my fingers.

I did my yoga and Qi Gong this morning slowly and it was a good workout.  However, I blew off Pilates so I could have two and a half more hours of alone in my house time.  Half hour to drive there, one hour class, half hour to go shopping for some stuff I don’t really need and half hour to drive home.  I’d much rather be in my house alone.

I took the dog for a walk this morning and it is just lovely outside.  The weather is perfect, the trees are starting to turn just a smidge, and no one was around except a couple of guys working on someone’s deck.  I smiled hello to them.  They dog was dying to get them to pet her.  It is her hobby.

I’m considering cutting my raspberry vines to the ground.  They look terrible.  The Japanese beetles have eaten the crap out of them.  There are a ton of weeds and I just want to clear the entire bed of everything.  I may dig all the strawberries and replant them how you are supposed to plant them.

I have to get my Master Gardener Book back from my neighbor.  I have to look up raspberries and see if I will destroy them if I cut them to the ground.  And I have to reread how to plant strawberries.

Ah, the day is before me, what shall I do with it?  List today reads:  1. Give Jessie dog a sponge bath, 2.  Cook beans that I picked yesterday, 3.  Do something with tomatoes that I picked yesterday, 4.  Clean the bathrooms, 5.  Dry herbs, 6.  Cut raspberries to the ground, 7.  Zumba at 4:00.  Sounds like a plan.

The photo is some Chinese pot stickers that I made recently.  I may have to make those again.  Now I'm hungry!

I have the worst streak of laziness running through me.  I did manage to work in the garden for about an hour three days ago. I need to pick a million little cherry tomatoes and some big ass cherry tomatoes but what to do with them?  I have been leaving them on my neighbors’ porches.  Along with a cucumber.

I guess it is that time of the year when I sort of get tired of my garden.  It is eaten up with Japanese beetles, Purslane is everywhere, and my poor tomatoes just rot and drop to the ground.  I’ll probably have a god zillion volunteer tomatoes next year.

Two days ago I did manage to sweep and mop the floors.  It took a lot of gumption to get up and do that.  I was bored in the afternoon and I went out and picked some quite large jalapeno peppers.

The hubster looked up popper recipes and we settled on Emeril Lagasse’s recipe.  It called for a seasoning called “Essence” which is just some Cajun seasoning with the first ingredient listed as salt.  I adjusted it to my taste buds.

And so I made the poppers.  There was entirely too much filling for the amount of peppers I used.  I made half the recipe.  I should have used the two eggs but I am getting low on eggs and don’t want to drive to Brodhead for fresh eggs. (What is happening to the chickens in the area?)  And so I used only one egg and paid the price.

My last few peppers were not entirely covered in the coating and they melted drastically.  I ate the cheese anyway.  You know me, the cheese head from Ohio!

My review of the Emeril Lagasse’s Jalapeno Poppers is this:  I’d never make them again.  Too much essence and not enough jalapeno pepper.

Yesterday I did manage to do three loads of laundry.  We retired folks just don’t go through the clothes like working people.  I sometimes make it a week with just two outfits.  One to get dirtier in and one to bathe and go somewhere.  Oh and I do go through two workout outfits for Pilates.

The hubster, I swear, sometimes goes for a week in his sweat shirt and sweat pants.  He keeps a ball cap close by to cover his hair in case anyone stops by.  I haven’t washed the baseball cap but it really needs it.

While doing my laundry I was surfing the internet (Okay, I was looking at FB) and saw a recipe for caramel cake.  You know me, the caramel loving queen.  I told the hubster I just saw this recipe and am going to make it.  He replied, “Cherry Pie.”

As you recall I went and picked a bunch of cherries this summer and threatened to make a cherry pie.  Singing the stupid song because I now had a brain worm, I found two packages of cherries and got out the lard.  (Yes, I use lard to make pie crust.)  I am in it for the pie crust.  My mom used to make extra so she could bake me what she called “crackers”.  She rolled out the pie crust and put little fork holes in them and salted them slightly and baked them until crisp.  I loved those stupid crackers.

I never have enough pie crust to make crackers but I usually try to make the recipe for two 10 inch pie crusts.  I still never have enough.  I may just bake myself some crackers today.  I have the lard!

I put the cherries into a sieve to thaw and went about my business of doing the laundry and surfing the internet and doing a jigsaw puzzle (I am so addicted!).  I squeezed as much of the juice out of the berries because I want to make cherry jelly this winter.  I left them as long as I could and pressed them a couple of extra times.

Followed my recipe but I think I put too much sugar in because the laundry was calling me and the hubster was napping and I didn’t want to wake him so I took a leave in the middle of adding sugar.  (Note to self:  cherry pie is more important than the husbter’s nap.)

My pie came out looking pretty good. I had to scrap piece it here and there.  I made a lattice top using the little cutter that was once the hubster’s grandmothers.

First impression – why is the pie filling white?  Why is it too juicy?  Answer – the cherries needed to be thawed more, you used too much sugar and not enough corn starch.

I ate it anyway!  I have to run out today for Brier’s French Vanilla ice cream.  I’m not giving this pie away so don’t you all get your hopes up.  Maybe next time.

Yesterday I went on a tour through Kleim Arboretum in Rockford, Illinois.  The tour was arranged by the Lake Summerset Garden Club.  I didn’t meet up at the Lodge to carpool as I had a date after the tour to help my friend can tomatoes.

The arboretum provided a trolley and ten of us boarded up and took a twenty minute tour of the paved area of the facility.  The paved area is 1.5 miles and it was quite pleasant to ride it.  The facility is 155 acres and has many unpaved but tended paths to walk.  Our driver gave us historical information as well as information about the plants.

All the trees are labeled as to what genus and species.  I really like this because I am not knowledgeable about trees.  I know a maple from an oak but that is about it.

The place began as a nursery back in the 50’s and changing hands a couple of times it has evolved into quite the lovely arboretum.

I had visited once before with friend, Garnet, but there was a school group of children there that day and we stayed away from them and on the other side of the gardens.  The children’s garden is in the center of the grounds and has a maze of shrubbery.  I was inquisitive about the maze and after our riding tour I sauntered over to the children’s garden by myself.

I climbed the huge staircase next to the maze and if you know me you know how I hate heights.  I just wanted a photo from the top of the maze showing what it looked like.  I stood about a yard away from the edge and held my camera up high.  I got down quickly.  I had to walk around the maze to find the entrance.

I could almost recall the screams of joy from the kids who had been playing there the last time I visited.  I thought for a moment, “what if I can’t find my way out?”  Silly me.  I stayed close to the entrance!

The garden is so nice.  They have many little gardens amongst the trees.  There are over 500 woody plant species in the park.  It is all about the trees.  They have six demonstration gardens to get ideas for your own gardens.  They do have a vegetable garden and I had to go look at the tomatoes and was not surprised to see that the same thing happening to my tomatoes is happening to theirs.  I admit that I ate a little green pepper because they had hundreds on the vine.  I also had a nasturtium.  Little snack before lunch.

One other garden I enjoyed was the ornamental grasses garden.  I am thinking of trying to grow some where the day lilies are now.  I hate day lilies and I am getting rid of them.  They cover up my Daddy’s garden.  I’ll be more careful with the grasses.

We had a catered luncheon and I enjoyed my turkey sandwich and fruit cup.  I didn’t eat the carrot sticks because I can’t eat carrots unless they come from my garden.  Especially in the summer.  I don’t eat cardboard, thank you.

I left after our Garden Club meeting which was short because our President is in the hospital awaiting a knee replacement.

I called my little girlfriend, Noeha (means peace in Egyptian), and got directions to her place.  She lives way out in the country and I had been there twice but I’m not good at directions.  I get lost a lot.  But it is exciting.  I sometimes have more fun being lost than being where I am supposed to be.

I stopped and picked up lemon juice because I didn’t have any and neither did Noeha.  I had packed all my stuff up the night before.  When I got to her place and unpacked I realized I had forgotten my pressure regulator.  We couldn’t use my steam canner.  She had a blue water bath canner so we were okay.

Next problem – how to sanitize the jars?  I opted for filling my canner with water, adding the jars and heating the water.  I filled the canner with water and while taking it out of the sink I popped off their water spout.  Woops!  Thank goodness her 6’6” husband was strong enough to pop it back on.

We talked and laughed and she fed the baby, Atticus.  I washed and cut up tomatoes.  For some reason she doesn’t peel her tomatoes when she cans them.  I told her my mother was turning over in her grave!  To each her own.

We worked together and had such a nice visit for a couple of hours.  We put on the second batch of 7 quarts and I packed up to go.  I had to have a photo to commemorate the day.  She is such a dear.  My girls and her two older sisters were close friends.  Her mom and dad are both dear friends of mine.  She is a new mama and I wanted to help her out and this is how I did it.

Another day in paradise.

I had a very hectic day yesterday.  I went to the front gate to work at the Mum Sale that our garden club has every year.  I am taking over the responsibility of running the event next year and I wanted to get all the information possible about how to coordinate the event.

I worked from 7 am to 1 pm at the mum sale.  We had sold most all of the plants but still had a few mums, asters and ornamental kale left to send back to the nursery.

It was a fun time and I got to meet a lot of new folks and got to know Mary better.  She is the previous coordinator and is so very helpful.

I came home and got ready and picked up friend, Garnet, to go to a movie try out.  We found the place thanks to the hubster who we called and he got directions from the internet.  I had looked it up previously and the stupid internet gave me the wrong location.  Why does this happen to me?

We met with Gunner who we had previously met at a different movie location.  He introduced us to the movie’s writer and producer and who was starring in the role of Nicholas.  Garnet and I were trying out to be his mother.

When they asked Garnet what role she was trying out for she told them, “Nicholas.”  She is such a goofball.

The try outs went well and we were on our way.  We decided to go downtown Rockford since there was a Greek Festival going on.  We parked in a nearby parking lot and I noted that it was funeral home lot.

The walk was about five blocks so we felt we had gotten in our walk for the day.  It wasn’t too crowded (I hate crowds) and we bought our tickets and checked out the menu.  I could not wait to get my Dolmathes and Spanakopita.   Garnet got a sample platter and got pork something.  She doesn’t eat meat and so she boxed it up to take it home to her hubster.

We oohed and aahed while eating and people watched.  There were quite a few handsome dark skinned men.  Love Greek men!  We tried the Greek beer and found it so good, we got another.  The music was wonderful and I found myself swaying to the beat.

The Greek dancers started their show and we had such fun watching the little ones do their dances.  We wanted to dance too but they just kept dancing and dancing.  I told Garnet that my feet were getting tired from standing so long.  She was ready to go also.

I ran into an old acquaintance, Mr. Fulfer, who was my girls’ school bus driver when they were in school.  He hadn’t changed a bit.  I missed seeing his wife who is such a joy and fellow writer.

We bought a few more tickets and I acquired 6 baklava.  Garnet went back and got more Spanakopita.

We walked back to my truck and decided we needed to tailgate.  There were only two cars in the lot besides mine and another one parked while we sat in the back of my truck laughing and talking.  Garnet commented that wouldn’t it be funny if this was the parking lot of a funeral home.  I pointed out the sign for her and she got such a good laugh.  We took a selfie with the sign behind us.

I let Garnet off and reminded her that we had a movie shoot at the beach at the Lake tomorrow and she said she would meet me there at noon.  We are going to be movie stars again.  I had better practice my signature for all those autographs in the future.

Today is a very sad day for me.  I had my final Zumba class with the most excellent instructor, Ginger.  I have only done Zumba in my basement to a DVD and did not expect the workout that a real Zumba class would do for me.  Ginger told me at the beginning that if I couldn’t keep up with the movements, to just keeps moving.  I’d pick up on it eventually.  I did pick up several of the dances and had such fun.  My hair would be soaked by the end of the hour.

Ginger has a child starting college and decided that she needed to go back to her real world job as a graphic designer.  I wish her the best of luck.  I know what it is like to have kids in college and have to make more money.

I will miss this class and all the wonderful people that I have come to know during this class.

I will continue with my Pilates class as it is now offered twice a week.  Suzie is a very good instructor and has helped me with my physical problems.  I have a problem with this wrist that I broke a couple of years ago.  And I am experiencing golfers elbow as a result.  I am doing physical therapy on my own to try to get over this pain.

I ordered a new DVD of Zumba today on Amazon and hope that I can get a good workout on my own time.

I will miss Ginger’s class so very much but am grateful for the time I have had with her in classes.

Much thanks to Garnet Smith who introduced me to Zumba.  Love ya girlfriend.

I was just wasting away my morning reading my email and checking up on Facebook to see that my older daughter is in New York City.  My college roommate was waiting on her dad in a dental office.  I love reading what other folks are doing and sharing what I have done.  It’s almost as good as talking to them in person.

The last thing I read before signing out to begin my day of stuff was “People who died yesterday had plans for today.”  And something to the effect of not taking this day for granted.

I also read something about a person saying that they will probably have to work until lunch hour on the day that they die.

All of the above are disturbing to me.  First of all I didn’t even know my daughter was heading to New York City and I skyped with her this past weekend.  It seems as though she has grown away from me.  But that is okay because I raised her to be an independent adult.  I am proud of her but sure wish she had told me she was going to New York City.  I don’t think I will ever go to NYC.  I hate crowds and hustle and bustle.

My college roommate disturbs me because she should be enjoying her life rather than guiding her elderly parents’ lives.  It just breaks my heart and also makes me so proud of her.  She is so strong.  I could not do what she is doing.  Bless her heart and I hope she doesn’t have to work until lunchtime on the day she dies.

As for the people who died and their plans, I have a plan every day.  I may be retired but I am an accomplisher.  I make my little list each morning and cross them off one by one.  My lists sometimes include, walk the dog, change hummingbird feeders, do your yoga, clean fridge, clean one window.  These are my plans and I feel really good at the end of the day when my list is clear.

I tried to take a photo of my list to accompany this blog but the photo didn’t come out.  My list today includes:  1. Put onions away – I dug them last week and have had them on a screen to dry in the garage.  I have a mesh bag to put them in to hang in the pantry.  We had enough onions last year that I didn’t have to buy them until January.

2. Can beans – I have put up five quarts of hot dilled beans but is has been too hot to can.  We are down in the 70’s now and I think I can can.  Yes, we can, can.  (Thank you Pointer Sisters.)

3.  Make blackening seasoning – we ran out the other night when the hubster made Buffalo chicken wings.  I prefer my recipe since it doesn’t begin with the ingredient “salt”.  It ends with “salt to taste.”

4.  Dig potatoes and put on screen to dry.  It is raining and I’m not digging in mud.  Although I could wear my bathing suit and go barefoot.  No, the neighbors would think I had gone mad.  (They probably do anyhow!)

5.  Dry sage, rosemary, thyme.  Since it rained, I’m not doing that either.

6.  Visit the in-laws.  Oh well since it rained I may as well go into Rockford and visit the hubster’s parents.  They are very nice and I don’t think they have many visitors.  I think after 43 years they finally like me.  I take them fresh veggies from the garden and pick up a piece of locally made bleu cheese which they love.  Then we catch up on the news of the girls.  (When they let me know they are going to NYC!)  The younger just moved to Tucson where she is taking a new job.  I am so glad for her.  And she informed me!

7.  Do Zumba at 4.  Because my sorry ass is too big and I must lose it before it becomes too familiar.

Go forth today and accomplish something even if it is changing the hummingbird feeder.  And try to take that day off when you have to die.

The photo above is one of my best accomplishments this summer.  Red raspberry jam and jelly to eat and share.

Well it is back to the beach for friend, Garnet, and me.  We had our fair share of ecstasy on Tuesday and decided we needed another hit of it.  It was not to be had at a cost.  There were so many people at the beach.  Nothing like a normal weekend day in the summer but compared to our four person beach on Tuesday there were a lot.

And they were quite entertaining I must say.  One couple had a floating cooler and took it out into the lake and huddled around it.  I never saw them open it but it provided a floating bar for them.  I must get one.

There was a very skinny girl in a minute bikini and I told Garnet that I had never worn one of those in my life and I was sorry.  She didn’t share if she had worn one or not.  We did discuss skinny dipping and she hadn’t done that.  I confessed that I had skinny dipped in a lake at night once and had done the nude beach thing in Jamaica a couple of times.  Swimming naked in the ocean is really a nice feeling.

I went and took my plunge into the lake and got settled on my floatie.  Stupid me, I flopped my beer into the holder and it foamed up and out.  Drat -- a waste of good beer.  Well as good as beer in a can can be. (Doesn’t that sound like a song?)  I prefer bottled beer but it isn’t allowed at the beach.  I know because I got a citation for $25.00 for having bottled beer on this beach.  (Another blog!)

Garnet joined me at our tie up at the rope divider.  We oohed and aahed about what a wonderful day it was to be at the beach and how lucky we are to be retired and can enjoy it.  We made some more bubbles.  (Old people!)

The days offering of a marvelous cloud structure came right behind Garnet and I had to turn her around to view it.  It was a series of “)” shaped clouds in an almost perfect formation.  Like ))))))))) .  It was so lovely.

I was fighting the seaweeds.  I hate it when they scrape my butt.  I was flinging them right and left.

I had done the absolutely stupidest thing that I have done in years that morning.  During my yoga session I realized that my eyes were really dry.  I had gotten new eye drops the day before because I realized that mine were expired.  I got up and went to the bedroom and picked up the bottle and before I realized it I had put essential oil into my right eye.  I ran to the bathroom and washed my eye.  Darn it if the medicine cabinet was too close and I could not get under well.

I ran to the kitchen where I knew I could get to the water easily.  I washed and washed my eye.  It was on fire.  I then went to my closet and found a bottle of saline solution and flushed my eye again with that.  I settled in and for the rest of the day put in my new eye drops or saline every 15 minutes.

I emailed my doctor and she said if it wasn’t better before that afternoon that I should see my eye doctor.  I let it ride.

While Garnet and I were at the beach I got out frequently to put drops in my eye.  It seems better today although still red.

I had brought cucumbers and cherry tomatoes along today and we snacked on those.  We discussed our gardens and how they were growing.  She said the brussel sprouts were wonderful.  They just boiled them and ate them plain.  I put soy sauce, hot sauce and garlic on mine.  I promised her some more brussel sprouts when I got home.

A group of folks in the lake decided it was lunch time and we decided since she said it loud enough that we must be invited.  We resisted the urge.

We whiled away our afternoon drinking our beer, sharing the veggies and thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.  And on occasion, making some more bubbles.

I decided to take a picture of my eye for this blog.  It went from bad photo to worse photo and then I took this one and made myself laugh.  I look like I'm in that movie that was really dark.  They were camping and had flashlights.  It was a scary movie so I never saw it.  The Blair Witch Project.  I had to look it up.

Well it is here so soon – Labor Day Weekend.  Just in this past week I have been in the lake twice.  Friend, Garnet and I decided since it was too hot to do anything we would do our floatie thing.  It has been nearly 90 degrees for several days.

I waited for her to show up with her little electric pump and didn’t blow my floatie up using my own breath.  I almost died the last time.

We got to Beach Two and there was only one man on the beach.  He had his kayak next to him and an extra chair.

Garnet and I each cracked a beer and talked for a while just to warm up and start sweating.  The hubster keeps our house at 68 degrees and sometimes I just freeze.  I wear these little flip flop socks on my hands that daughter Jess made for me.  My fingers are still cold but my hands aren’t.

The gloves of summer.

We warmed up and ate the cucumber I had sliced up and brought with me.  There is nothing quite like cool cucumbers when you are hot.  They are a natural cooling food.

Garnet had gotten a new floatie like mine and didn’t have the trouble getting onto it like the last one.  I told her I missed her entertainment.  Our method of getting on the floatie is to go out to about a foot and a half of water and to fall into the seat.  I however, cannot go into the water without a plunge first to get wet.  I went out to the rope and dove into the refreshing water.

Of course, Garnet, bitched about how cold the water was.  I told her that I loved her enough not to splash her ass.  She finally got onto the floatie and we crab walked out to the rope.  The last time we had floatieed we had floated out of the swim area.  I decided we needed to go to the other end of the beach and the wind would push us back to our area of the beach.  I stayed in my floatie while Garnet actually dragged me down to the other end of the beach.  What a friend!

We said “hello” to the guy on the beach since Garnet was being a little loud.  She had stopped at the bar across the street and had a Patron tequila before getting to my place.  She was admittedly a little buzzed.

Well much to my surprise the stupid wind was from the east today and was taking us out of the swim area on the other end of the lake.  We should have stayed put down at our end of the beach.

We stroked at the water and maintained our stay.  A lady came kayaking through near us and landed on the beach.  She took the seat next to the only other person on the beach.  Nice!

We laughed and hooped and hollered a couple of times and then floatie swam back to the other end of the beach.  We got out cause I had to pee and can’t bring myself to do it in the water.

We sat and talked on the beach for a while and I asked if she wanted to go back in.  We were both pretty sweaty about this time.  Back in we went and discovered, as if we were the smartest women in the world, that if we simple locked our legs around the swim divider rope, we could stay in place.  What a life!  Just floating around on our almost exclusive beach with not a care in the world, enjoying our beer and the conversation.

The day was just lovely and I spotted a cloud that looked like the United States except that Florida could have been a little more to the south and Texas could have been a little bigger.  It really did look like the US of A.

A lady showed up on our beach with a little girl not yet school age.  We moaned and knew our private beach would be ruined.  It was not.  The lady stayed on her smart phone the entire time they were there and the little girl dug a hole in the sand and repeatedly went to the lake for a bucket of water and came back to pour it into the hole.  Have we all done this in our lives?  Where does it go?  The little girl got tired of this and talked her mom into putting down the phone and going to get the water for her.

Garnet and I lost interest and went back to our meanderings.  She told me about camping and the crazy people she calls family.  I told her stories of my childhood and my very strange family.  We made some bubbles in the lake and giggled over that.  That’s right; I cannot bring myself to pee in the lake but haul off and let loose gastric emissions easily enough.

It was getting to be about the time that I was in need of some food and I spotted the school bus across the lake.  I knew it to be about 4:00 and so we packed things up and headed home.

I sent Garnet home with two cucumbers and a handful of brussel sprouts. She was amazed at how they grow.  I asked if she liked them and she loves them.  I hate to waste food.