Flag Day

Tomorrow is Flag Day, so don't forget to proudly display your flag.

I had a lot of thoughts running through my mind early this morning when I first sat down to write my post for today. I had my graphics all selected and when I clicked on the little magic button to add them to the post nothing happened. I had lost my connection and it just wouldn't link up with the satellite. I figured it was due to the new line of storms that are moving into the area. I kept trying though. If I am anything, I am definitely stubborn. About 4 this afternoon I gave up and finally called tech support to see if they could help. I hate to call tech support for anything because I somehow always end up with someone on the other end with an accent so thick I can not understand what they are saying. They told me to type this and do that and pull up this thing-a-ma-jig and close that wotcha-ma-cal-lit. Now I sure hope I didn't make anyone feel computer challenged with that display of technical jargon. I really wasn't trying to show off. Before I knew it I had a connection again. Any way, getting back to what I was saying..... Since that vast interruption in my train of thought early this morning, most of what I wanted to say has completely left my mind.

'WELCOME REVA'

We have a new neighbor that I encourage you to visit. Every once in a while I just sort of stumble upon a blog and have no recollection of how I found it. That is the case with 'Gifting Each Day' . What drew me to Reva's blog in the first place was the post about her English Bulldog that had swallowed a fishing hook. I read that one post and was hooked. I promptly added her to my reader and have been visiting her since. Reva has such a wonderfully warm and open way of writing her posts, it feels like I am reading a letter from family. Be sure to leave her a comment and tell her Jo sent you.

Now I am going to ask for your opinion, because I value what you all have to say. I recently visited a blog and noticed that it had 'Bits and Pieces listed on the blog roll. I thought that is strange because this was a blog that I wasn't familiar with. Out of curiosity I clicked on the link and it took me to a blog titled 'Bit and Pieces'. I checked the date of the blog on the profile page and that blog has been around since '05. I didn't think blogger would allow more than one Title of a certain name like they don't allow duplicate user names, etc. At any rate I am seriously thinking of changing the name of my blog. When I first started blogging my blog was titled 'Moodscapes' . If I decide to change the Title I will be going back to that one. So what do you think?

~~~

I have rambled on enough for one post.

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend.

Girlie Wisdom

I thought you all could use a few laughs to help you get through the rest of the week...

Women over 50 don't have babies because

they would put them down

and forget where they left them.

~~~

A friend of mine confused her Valium

with her birth control pills...

she has 14 kids but doesn't really care.

~~~

One of life's mysteries is

how a 2-pound box of chocolates

can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

~~~

My mind not only wanders,

it sometimes leaves completely.

~~~

The best way to forget your troubles

is to wear tight shoes.

~~~

The nice part about living in a small town

is that when you don't know

what you are doing,

someone else does.

~~~

The older you get,

the tougher it is to lose weight

because by then, your body

and your fat are really good friends.

~~~

Just when I was getting used to yesterday,

along came today.

~~~

Sometimes I think I understand everything,

and then I regain consciousness.

~~~

I gave up jogging for my health

when my thighs kept rubbing together

and setting fire to my knicker's.

~~~

Amazing!

You hang something in your closet

for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!

~~~

Skinny people irritate me!

Especially when they say things like...

'You know sometimes I forget to eat!'

....Now I've forgotten my address,

my mother's maiden name and my keys,

but I have never forgotten to eat.

You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

~~~

The trouble with some women

is that they get all excited about nothing

and then they marry him.

~~~

I read this article that said the typical symptoms

of stress are eating too much,

impulse buying, and driving too fast.

Are they kidding?

That's my idea of a perfect day!

Blossom Of Friendship

Laughin' at each others jokes,

We might even clown around,

Always sharing all our thoughts,

Usually standing our ground.

~~~

All of us so different and unique,

As people can plainly see.

We always chat right from the heart,

setting our souls and spirits free.

~~~

Sometimes we wonder about the bud of trust,

As our friendships blossom n' grow,

We're just looking for sincerity,

Of those we are getting to know.

~~~

Wonder where the time goes,

As minutes, hours, and days go past.

Time just seems to stand still,

When we are building friendships meant to last.

~~~

Friendships between people,

So close.....yet so far apart.

Far only in distance,

Always close in our hearts.

~Author Unknown

Have a blessed day.......... ~Jo

Pineapple Up~Side Down Cake

After the post of Tersie's Birthday Dinner, I had a few request for my Pineapple Up~Side Down Cake recipe. It is a recipe that is quick to make and I understand it is a wonderfully tasty cake. I mustered up all of the will power I could find and fought off my sweet tooth temptations and didn't even taste the finished product. A note of caution here...... This is not a diabetic friendly recipe. ~Enjoy




Ingredients:

2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 can sliced pineapple, Save juice for later
maraschino cherries
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Using a 10 inch round Iron skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from heat and mix in the brown sugar.

2. Place 8 slices of pineapple with the butter and brown sugar mixture.

3. In a large bowl, separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks until lightly fluffy. Add 1/2 cup pineapple juice, white sugar and vanilla. Mix until sugar is dissolved.

4. Sift baking powder, flour, and salt. Combine well. Beat egg whites until stiff then fold into the egg yolk mixture.

5. Add this mixture to the butter, pineapple, and sugar mixture.

6. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then turn upside down onto a plate

7. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple slice.

~Jo

Summer Time Blessings

All of a sudden around the yard and in my gardens the flowers are popping open and bursting with color and fragrance. Even with the heat being almost unbearable, we do have a nice breeze blowing here on the mountain ridge. We don't have an air conditioner in our house. It really doesn't seem to be needed because we almost always have a breeze. In the 4 years that we have lived here I think at the most we may have a total of a week each year when there is a lack of breeze and intolerable heat. A nice cold drink and a seat in the shade usually takes care of that.

I thought I would share some of the color that is growing in our flower gardens. Pictured above is our Jacobs Ladder. When I bought this plant I had no idea what it would look like. I bought it mainly because I liked the name. It is a beautiful flower that when it starts to bloom, the flowers climb upward on the stalk. Once it got established, it has really flourished.

This beauty is the Cherokee Rose. It grows wild all around our property.

The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother’s spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother’s tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.

Source: The Cherokee 1994 Heritage Calendar by Dorothy Sullivan, Memoray Circle Studio, Norman, Ok.
Copyright © 1996 The Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston

I would like to recommend the book "The Trail Of Tears" to those blog friends that are avid readers. It will bring a whole new understanding to the tragic story of the Native Americans and the price they paid to the earlier settlers of this country.

This Rose Bush was an anniversary gift from J.D. a couple of years ago. I love roses and these are long stemmed to boot. They bloom all summer.

Every year I buy a pot or two of Geraniums. They are a tough plant that can pretty much stand up to the brown thumb of any gardener. They have a beautiful full bloom and come in so many colors. I have always found it difficult to understand how a flower so beautiful can smell so bitter. I am sure there is a reason for it though.

These are roses on the rose bush that Chris, Melody and the children gave me for Mother's Day a couple of years ago. This bush blooms all summer too. Last year it had a nice show of roses, but this year it was so full of roses that you could hardly see the green leaves.

A little visitor that landed at my feet the other day.

Last year because of a late frost our pear tree didn't produce any fruit. This year one of the two trees are loaded with fruit. Hopefully I will be able to eat some of the pears without it affecting my blood sugar. I am going to try my hand at canning them because I know J.D. likes pears.

We had the boys here Saturday night so Melody and Chris could go to dinner with Greg (Chris' buddy since grade school) and his wife Shelly. It was Greg's Birthday so they planned on a few other activities after dinner like going dancing and going to throw darts. Riley and Seth both fell asleep before Mom and Dad got back. We are about a 30 minutes drive from where they live and it was another 30 minutes to where they were doing their celebrating. When they got here in the wee hours of the morning they came bearing donuts and a special request..... "Can we stay over?" It is always a treat when we have family here. So yes, they stayed over and the next morning I fixed them home made biscuits and omelets.

Seth ran the vacuum sweeper before he went home. He is so cute and there is no putting anything over on this boy. He knows this thing is supposed to make a noise when you use it and to do that he knows that the cord has something to do with it. Grandps plugged it in for a little while and then unplugged it. Well, it just wasn't mking the noise, so Seth carried the cord over by the wood stove and tried plugging it into the wood pile. I don't know why that didn't work....hehehe

Riley put in his time pushing the vacuum when he was Seth's age. So he got some computer time in while Seth was sweeping the floor. I think it is important that children start using the computer at an early age. When they do, they don't end up being intimidated by it when they are older and find themselves having to use a computer. Riley is getting to be pretty computer savvy.

Grandpa put Riley in the wagon on the lawn tractor and holding Seth on his lap gave them a ride up to the van when it was time to go. This was Seth's first ride, Riley has loved those rides since his first one about 4 years ago.

I want to draw your attention to the wall in the picture of Riley at the computer. T~Bear made the sign that says "Be Patient" for her Grandpa. We thought that would be the best place to put it, because like most of us that is where he most needs to be reminded to "Be Patient".

~*~*~*~

A special thank you to Aisha at "The Holley Herald" for this award. Ashia and Steven are newly weds and right now dealing with all of the red tape involved with getting a Visa so she can join Steven here in the USA. Blogging is her way of dealing with the long wait. Stop by and see her and be sure to leave her a comment.

Have Blessed week ~Jo