tender mercies

                                           the surgical waiting room....

yesterday was a long day here. our son had rotator cuff surgery to repair his sholder after being rear ended exactly 6 months ago. it's been a long haul, but i am so grateful to the skilled doctor and especially the unsung heros, his nurses mary kay and bethany. they kept me informed and reassured me as i waited and prayed and waited some more. he had a tough go of it ~~ it's never an easy surgery- but there were some unexpected complications with the pain management part (poor guy has a weird nerve pattern that they'd never seen before and areas could not be blocked)  but today was a much better day!     yeah!

so many of you were sending up prayers for him and we felt it- so to the wonderful people at the clinic and my peeps, thank you for your concern,

 you matter to me too!

~they put 4 of these babies in his bone to hold the tendon back on!  (they'd never had anyone ask to see them before- but he wanted to)  : )

xo, beth

look what's attracting birds in my back yard

what started out as about 12 plants dug up from my cousin mikey's raspberry patch a few years ago has turned into a massive mound of raspberry goodness~ the birds love them and while i am out picking, the birds are scolding and squawking away- trying to scare me off so they can eat them all- little do they know there are enough for all of us!

it's big, my patch. that means massive amounts of deet to go back and pick without needing antihistamines, it means finding about an hour every other day to pick these little berries and then~~~ what to do with them all?

well, if you didn't already know this- making jam is really very easy- so it's jam i am!
here's what i've done with my first 3 gallons of berries.

i have made a lot of jam.

if you want to come pick them-let me know

now, onto something unrelated but equally important.

*does anyone have a good remedy for dry cracked feet? i am so over having calloused feet that could turn into hooves without intervention! I've tried a lot of lotions- and sanding devices-please tell me i'm not alone-anyone out there found a solution?

xo, beth ("neigh")

graduation~

the 72 cadets filed in...

cole in the middle~

wilfred brimley handed out their diplomas....just kidding

this face says it all!

so long MSU....

you've gotta have this shot right?

and then driving home....thru the trees i spotted this green giant.  just thought you'd want to know~ i wasn't even scared, i had a real  "cadet"  policeman with me. : )

happy monday my friends,

xo, beth

tomorrow is a big day for me.
it's official~ my last child ~graduates from college.
this son of mine is now qualified to be a policeman!....and after a test he has to pass in august, he will be available for hire. i'm so proud of him for choosing law enforcement as a career. we need our policemen right? they keep us safe.

i am proud-oh yes i am... but as his mother my head goes places. it has to explore the dangers and long, late hours and the stress he will have~ is it what i would have chosen for him? probably not- this is the kid i jumped through hoops to have... 4 miscarriages, infertility treatments, his in-utero heart defect followed by a 10 day overdue, Christmas day birth-by the time this kid was born i practically displayed him on a silver platter. HAHA. as a mom we just want to protect our kids- but i will support him and wish him luck in finding a job and ask God to protect him. i will turn it over to God and know in my heart that if this is what he wants to do, then i am o.k. with it.

his sibs are already teasing him about the perks of being a cop:

turning on your lights and racing to dunkin donuts,
turning on your lights and racing to taco bell,
eating donuts,
turning on your lights and racing anywhere-when you need to use the bathroom,
getting out of speeding tickets yourself,
getting to flash a badge,
eating donuts

oh it goes on and on~ & it's going to be an interesting ride- of that i have no doubt.
he's survived driving like a maniac on a closed course-with a "tough as steel" 70 yr. old instructor, and being maced and tasered. oh and there was a lot of psychology & book learning too. AND a couple of bowling classes thrown in for good measure.  (you never know when throwing a heavy bowling ball at a perp may come in handy!)    : )

* pictures will be comin next week!   Have yourself a fabulous weekend,


xo, beth

             "there is a certain happiness in being silly and ridiculous

 ~ giddy up ~

that's right folks.

when was the last time you acted ridiculous? it really does do the heart good. when i think back on my favorite times, they are mostly when i have been part of fun that was just plain silly---- junior high, summer camp, kind of silly.

wanna go on a girls weekend with me? should we act ridiculous? that's my favorite kind of fun.
p.s. it doesn't even have to involve alcohol! (although don't get me wrong- i've got nothin against a good glass of wine.) me and my favorite peeps have so much fun even completely sober, that the people around us probably think we're inebriated- (and probably wish we would just go away!)    : )

here i am, 49 years old and pregnant---NOT- haha...my girl adria was wearing an old bridesmaids dress i wore in the late 70's! halloween party smack dab in the middle of a sunday afternoon? you betcha~

while out for a walk in the arizona desert, my sis and i dug thru refuse and  drug it back to decorate a cacti in my cousin's yard as a dumb surprise to make her laugh.

these are two of my favorite funsters....when we're together there's no lack of shenanigans and laughter...

if you're feeling blue~ go ahead call your funniest friends, plan something- & don't come home till you've laughed yourself silly. raise those serotonin levels girls. you cannot simultaneously laugh and be cranky at the same time.

p.s.s. a couple years ago, during a girls weekend in duluth- i made a bestie laugh so hard she threw up. it was about 2 a.m.  ~ we'd eaten too much and were soooo wound up---good times my friends, good times!

xo, beth

"oh how i love to go up in the air"

"oh how i love to go up in the air, up in the sky so blue,
oh i do think it's the loveliest thing, ever a child can do".

i love to swing. sometimes when i'm out for my walk, i just stop at the
big old swings at the elementary school and swing for a bit. pretty sure it lowers my
blood pressure.  : )

when my friend cheri (love her!) moved a couple years ago, she didn't have a tree for her
swing and she offered it to me. it laid out back of our house for all that time until we bought our land this spring. every time we looked at a place- i'd say out loud, "is there a tree for the swing?" 

well even though we have a bazillion trees up north, my big sweetie said he wanted to build me a frame for it, since none of the ones close by were big enough. this weekend he did just that~ he built me a big frame and mounted the swing and i could not be happier...

i gave it a new thick coat of white paint (which took about 4 hours including the scraping) and lars got to work~

whew---she's finished...and just in time for a downpour!

the sun broke out and my grandboy and i tried it out for the first time. it is perfect!

              here's my swings new home 

i hope i never get too old to love to swing....
sunday morning lars and i woke up early and we got our coffee and wandered out to sit together and watch the birds at the feeders and the day unfold. it was father's day and i was full of gratitude for this man by my side. 

 thank you honey for being such a great father and for making me so happy~ xox

xo, beth

goslings, quilts and ukuleles ~

i love this old quilt...$3 at a thrift shop! i nearly walked away from it-but i'm so glad my friend talked me into it- it needed about an hour of repairs and a run thru the old washer and now i can't wait to wrap up with it on a cool day~

i had to stop right in the road and wait patiently whilst this
gaggle of geese slowly crossed the road last week. "take your time there boys and girls- i'm in no hurry".

i took the picture below in a gift shop- isn't this stairway charming? ~and if you ever go on pinterest you've undoubtedly seen how popular painting and decorating hardwood stairs has become. my personal favorites are ones with numbers and stripes, but this set with fun colors made me smile!

last night some friends and i met at the lake harriet bandshell. we ate at bread and pickle (which makes fabulous food by the way) and then we spread out our blankets and listened to the band. other than being a bit too windy, it was a marvelous evening outside just chillin and people watching. there was an older person-none of us could quite figure out if it was a man or a woman- who danced. they danced all alone in front of the stage for a long time-in a world of their own and like one of the girls said, it was kind of funny and sweet and just unusually brave of this cute old person to "dance like no one was watching".

 

i'm dancing off to bed now- have a blessed weekend and if you get a chance DANCE!

p.s. isn't ukulele a great word...did i spell it right?

xo, beth

sposed to rain today...

have i told you how much i love rain? i love, love, love it!!!!! 

 all you need are some wellies, (check) a raincoat, (check) or a great umbrella and as long as you're not planning on getting married outside today~i say let er rip. RAIN ON SKY!!!!! show us what you've got- water my flowers for me k. ?

                                     xo, beth

good morning sunshine!

my garden makes me happy. especially if it's weeded. last week i weeded, and weeded and now i am really happy with it. at the end of my work day- it's like therapy to stand with the hose in my hand and give my pretties a drink.

 you don't need much yard to have a garden. you can do it on the deck- you can do it in just pots--- it's not too late for the year- if you don't already reward yourself this way, i'd highly recommend you get to the garden center and give it a try. if you're a brand new gardener start small- read up and just experiment. not everything will work- but every year you learn more about what works in your zone (get in the zone people!).

i grew up at the heels of one of the most passionate gardeners i've ever know- my gram had two gardens- each about an acre! one was devoted to flowers and one to fruits and veggies. she'd put on her shorts, get her hoe in her hand and head out to work away- most every day. it's probably one of my favorite ways to remember her.  you were hard pressed to ever find a weed in her gardens either- that girl spent time out there- and my love of always having fresh flowers in the house? yep ~ got that from her. thanks gram for planting the love of gardening in me.

join me~ go green.   or pink!         : )

                                       xo, beth

hi friends!

here's what's makin me happy this gorgeous monday morning!

this is the very last peonies from my garden for the year- how i will miss them- but ohh how i've enjoyed them. aren't they just so f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s?

then there's this garden armillary that friend leslie k. gave me for a "cabin warming" gift---i know---- she's the bee's knees and then some~ see below  ------->

looking out my window i saw the children from the nearby elementary school out for the last day of school picnic-their happy little voices carried thru the air to me- oh to be young again and have the whole summer stretched out in front of you, with no more to do than watch cartoons and catch fireflies!

there's nothing better than a table full of annuals ready to pot up huh? i got the rest of what i'm going to plant today and by bedtime these will be in the pots-ready for some summer lovin!

last night our friends across the street saw us sittin in the garage enjoying a lazy sunday evening and walked over. we sat and hashed over our weekends activities and looked at their daughter's wedding photos i'd just finally finished editing for them when all of a sudden the wind picked up and a big old rainstorm blew in---they tried to wait it out- and my boyfriend offered to drive them home (ha) but mark, being the old boyscout he is said "no, no we'll walk, but can we borrow an umbrella?" so off they went, in the lightning and thunder and torrential rail- we told them if we saw them get hit by lightning- we'd call 911- ASAP! we're good friends huh? : )

look at this little baby robin. it blew out of it's nest yesterday--- well the new puppy was visiting and before we could stop him, his natural instincts kicked in and he had him in his mouth!!!! oh no!!!! our grandson bravely stepped in and grabbed it while the mamma bird was swooping down ready to attack and we moved him to a safe place in the neighbors yard-

it wasn't long before it was chirping away....bet he's got some stories to tell his feathered friends today- something akin to jonah and the whale. "so all of a sudden i fell over the edge of the nest and landed on the ground-right- and then i was just sitting there wondering what i was going to do now when this huge gold furry thing came running over and grabbed me in his mouth....." 

hoping your monday was as bright as mine and that if you fell out of anything over the weekend, there was someone there to save you!
- i'm coming off a week of vacation and no offense annie- but you may never see me again!!! whoop whoop---got so much work and play time in- it was glorious!!!

xo, beth

happy friday

today i thought i'd throw you a whole bunch of photos from the last couple weeks- kind of like a photo dump if you will! on my way to work the other day i saw a fab sign on a corner that said BARN SALE and it had a red pennant on it too. well~ a pennant gets me every time-so off i went!

well, the sale was intriguing and i wish i could say that the marvelous vintage wicker rocker below came from there...but the prices were a little too high and  so off i went- next tho there was an estate sale and that's were this old beauty came from. the owner threw in the table and i practically ran all the way to the car carrying it, i was so excited -AND late for work- you gotta leave early on garage sale days people!!!

she's not only pretty-she's a comfortable old soul as well~

while the hubs and our two boys fished in the river last saturday, i lounged quietly in a lawnchair and read a magazine along the bank. it was nice~ but wouldn't it have been lovely if i had been lounging there in my old rocker?        : )

now... i am a pushover, i am but i said "no dogs on the furniture" at the cabin. and i meant it too.

but seriously~ how can you get mad at a puppy as dear as this little guy? (or the fella who helped him get up there?) pretty soon he's goina get big though and then i mean it---NO DOGS ON THE FURNITURE!

*****

friends and i dined on the deck at raddison arrowwood- i was diggin the kiwi green umbrellas so much i wondered if they'd miss one if i just slipped it up my sleeve. looking out at lake darling was a slice of heaven-we used to have a view of it out our bedroom window.

well...i wasn't done uploading photos-but guess what? i guess i am because my site is giving me all kinds of problems so it's "say la vie" my friends!

it's supposed to be a hot mother this weekend-stay close to the airconditioning  friends, or put on your swim suit and run thru the sprinkler!!!!

i got completely and totally sprayed by the sprinkler trying to move it today- it shot right up my shorts legs and i screamed like a girl!!! oh that's right i am a girl!!!!

remember sunscreen too---- and a sun hat- that darn cancer is out there trying to sneak up on us friends~

xo, beth