Saturday, July 31, 2010

Love That Summer Produce



Yes, its been a
HOT
summer.

But I sure do love the
Bounty of Summer!
Don't you?

This is what we had for dinner one
night this week.

Mmmmmm.
So YUMMY.
So Colorful!

Grilled Chicken
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Green Onions
Red Peppers
Goat Cheese
Sweet Potatoes

We also enjoyed fabulous fruit!
Peaches
Nectarines
Blueberries
Watermelon
Cantaloupe

I will welcome the cooler weather,
but I will miss this food!!


Monday, July 26, 2010

Memories....

Memories....
like the corner of my mind.....

Tonight we ate supper, did the dishes, and bathed the kids
unhitched.

Jody went to take the {new} dog out
(long story, I'll try and post pics of our sweet
Labradoodle, Sage)
We had reading time.

I told the kids to go brush there teeth
and
there was
NO WATER.

I thought, no...the bill IS paid for.
{I have made this mistake recently}

We all walked outside and saw
A RIVER
running down the side of the road,
across the street!

Oh the summer fun!
Dogs and kids
playing
running
laughing

However
the most vivid memories
that surface in my mind
are living in Uganda
where most evenings
our water shut off.
There I was a little more prepared
as I had at least water to drink
in the fridge!

The similarities stop here
BECAUSE
within the hour
our friendly BRRW company truck
pulled up
checked out the situation
and turned off the running water.
Now, I'm hoping the guys with the
BIG STUFF
show up tonight to fix it!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Kicked to the Curb






Poor Baby
Learning to hold her own
is tough
for a 4th child.
{notice the scab under her nose}



The Culprit:

Piling into the suburban
is just not as safe as it used to be!
Especially if you have a sibling
who KICKS!

Bottom line, everyone was excitedly
getting in the car as I
grabbed a few things.
Luke kicked Millie...
OUT OF THE CAR!!
She fell flat on her face.

Luke got a spanking
and I THINK he has learned a
valuable lesson.

I hope.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Fruit Flies

We came home from a wonderful vacation (staring with a camp out at Nana's, family camp in Michigan, Warren Dunes State Park, Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and ended with a campout in the Smokies....post with pics will follow in the near future) to a home that was INVADED by FRUIT FLIES!

It was unbelievable!!!




It was my own fault. Unbeknownst to me, I had left a half of a banana in the fruit bowl. It rotted and bred a colony or 2 of nasty, pesky little fruit flies. {GAG}



I cleaned, I bleached, I wiped, I swatted. I repeated all of these steps. All in vain, the fruit flies just moved from corner to corner in the kitchen and bathrooms. Making babies, I'm sure!



I was SO annoying. So gross! I felt like the Egyptians in Exodus! Well, it wasn't that bad....but it was bad.

Skeptically, I looked up remedies online.

I am thrilled to report, on my first try at home remedies...I {think} I have annihilated them. Its amazing!



Here is what I did:

Took 3 small bowls and filled them 2/3 full with balsamic vinegar.
Mixed 1/3 c water with 2 pumps of kitchen soap
Poured the soap mixture evenly into the vinegar cups



Set the bowls in the corners and waited. With in minutes the flies were lighting on the bowls. Within hours I could not find any swarms of flies in the house. I waited until morning and dumped the vinegar into a tea strainer.

The result?
Hundreds of drowned fruit flies.

Amazing! Magical!

I may just leave a little bowl on the counter from now on!!!