Thursday, May 26, 2011

Beginning Summer

Branch found a baby Red Cardinal who flew the coop a little too soon. Mean Ol' Mama was repotting an Elephant's Ear plant when she was convinced to babysit the bird while a cage was found. Unfortunately, the little birdie didn't survive, even with a nice, cozy cage.

Spanish phonics, grammar, practicum, and spelling is more exciting outside, isn't it? Hello? Branch? Girl-girl? Hello????!!!!

A cousin stopped by to help Josiah train his bird dog. Stennes visited for a while when Josiah was looking for supplies.

And off they go to discover new worlds...

Branch and The Girl enjoyed an 8 - 0 no loss soccer season.



Anders' team enjoyed a no-loss season, as well.

The children enjoyed a wild game of croquet free-for-all.

And then a few more unsuspecting fellows showed up, and they all enjoyed a wild game of soccer. With a few rules. A few. Mean Ol' Mama and Teresa are trying frantically to plan summer stuff and one million other upcoming, gotta know now, we're-already-behind, that was due WHEN?? kind of plans. Yes, it takes two grown women to produce as much chaos as we do on a daily basis...


We enjoyed a really good meeting this past Sunday at a Hispanic/Haitian camp. The folks were very receptive to the message, and no one stepped in the fire ants!

We attended the boys' Spring Concert for their band in Tallahassee. Poppins snapped this photo of his two favorite ladies!

Stennes gave a short introductory speech for one of the songs.



A "walking away" shot of Anders...







And here's a photo you don't see every day: Mean Ol' Mama with someone's baby and a....trumpet mute? Yep. Gotta keep both the baby and the trumpet quiet somehow!

One of Josiah's bantam hens decided to set, and out popped six of these cute fellows!

In other news, Josiah and The Girl shaved Lady. She was a bit skittish but managed to stay on the table.

And oh, the disgrace of having one's tail shaved! It certainly is a dog's life!

Now we're pals again...

Our small garden blessed us with two nice zucchini and an eggplant. Combined with sweet onions, we had a very nice stirfry for supper!

The older boys have been very busy at the U-Pick, and we're trying desperately to maintain some semblance of school going on when they're home, which is not easy. In fact, the word "impossible" comes to mind. But onward we trudge. Mo'Mama is trying to re-structure the schoolwork, re-organize the house, solve the world's problems, and get every unsuspecting duck in a row before College begins again next week. Again, the word "impossible"...

Monday, May 16, 2011

Around and About

Isn't this a discouraging sight? Just how many lentils can be spilled on the floor in one place? And Mean Ol' Mama ain't got no one else to blame but...[GULP!!!]... herself ! Waaah-waaah! These photos of the raised beds/boats on the side of the house show how nicely our little gardens are growing. We can pretty well pick a little something to eat every meal of every day. Yummy and fresh!














Yesterday we enjoyed two good meetings, first with Haitians and then with Hispanics. The weather was wonderfully cool, and we had a nice time at both places.


ChubChub and these two fellows were full of gigles and silly smiles.


ChubChub "stole" some chess pieces from the game and gave Mo'M his best scary face. Shivers!


How many monkeys can fit on one sofa? Anders and ChubChub enjoyed a game of "Trouble" (how appropriate) while Branch and Poppins checked out real estate on-line.



This week looks good for catching up on schoolwork and busy stuff around the house. We'll see...

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Are we behind, or so far ahead that we can't see anyone else?

Stennes has been making leather belts and holsters. He does lovely work, and his hobby is a source of suprise and respect for many people who see his work.







ChubChub has finished his first official season as a soccer player. He and his teammates had a good time, and the adults thoroughly enjoyed watching their 5-year-old antics on the field. You can only imagine...

The Girl brought Mean Ol' Mama a lettuce leaf basil from her herb garden, which was promptly filled with zucchini-fried rice and happily gobbled up!

You would think that being on break from the College would give Mo'M more time for posting, but she has been going through the house, top to bottom, with a very critical eye. Many items, clothes, books, etc. have found new homes, and she's quite pleased to discover that there are surfaces that look lovely with nothing on them! Nothing but dust, that is....[sigh...]. More postings with pictures to come soon!