Real tomatoes…

YES!!  These are real tomatoes sent to me from my son in law’s brother and his wife from their garden.  THANKS!!! Tim and Val.  Now if only I had a zucchini.  Jim and I always had a garden.  Not a big one, but big enough that we always had plenty of tomatoes to share with our neighbors.  Even after Jim died I would go out to our garden area each spring and hoe up a big enough space to plant 4 or 5 tomato plants.  All I have room for here are potted tomato plants  This year the heat killed them even though they were watered daily.

Our garden at home.

I have to go out this morning to the pharmacy and to run a couple of errands. It is to be mid 90s today.  We have had 26 days this month with over 90 temps which ties a record from 1887.  Out of those 26 days over a week was triple digit highs.  We are way below normal rainfall and our whole state along with many other states are drought disasters.

Have a peaceful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

50 % chance…

of rain today with high in the upper 80s.  This is the best chance we have had for rain for a long time.  I really hope that we get some.  No storms though, please.

*****

This picture was taken the day we moved from Missouri to Illinois.  I am in the front row with the striped sleeves.

*****

Have a wonderful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Happy Birthday to my sister Rae…

What is a sister?

A sister is someone
who’s been where you’ve been,
who knows you
and what you’re about…
Someone you know
you can call if you need to
when something’s
just not working out.
A sister is someone
who’s more than just family
her friendship is one of a kind…
And the closeness you’ve shared
through life’s laughter and tears
is the deepest
that you’ll ever find.

I’m lucky to have a sister like you…
I wouldn’t trade our special relationship
for anything in the world.
Nothing is more comfortable
or more reassuring than knowing
that you’re always there.
And you make life so enjoyable
just by being yourself
You’ve always been the best kind of sister.

I just thought I’d say "thanks".

-Author Unknown

 

*****

Rae is my only remaining sister.  She knows me better than anyone in the world.  She has held my hand and dried my tears many times.  I remember our teenage years, double dating and hanging out and watching each others back.  She has a heart of gold and never says no to any one who needs help.  She would give you the clothes off her back if you admired them.  I know  because I have been the recipient of some pieces of clothing I have admired.  She is on first name basis with many of the town officials and several personnel at the local television stations .  She is an untiring worker for the handicapped in several counties around her.  She donates her time to  these worthwhile causes.  I don’t get to see her very often because she lives 500 miles from me in West Virginia and my health has been declining. 

Love you Rae,

May God truly bless you and may this be one of the happiest days of your life.

Beth

Wednesday, official rant day…

I didn’t want to do it but I feel compelled to tell you all that the expected temp for us right here in the very heart of Illinois today is predicted to be 105.  If that isn’t something to rant about I don’t know what is.  I will not be venturing out at all today unless it is an emergency. 

So what to do on a day with extreme heat.  First you pray that the air conditioner keeps working,  Then you get busy and do some housework that you have neglected for awhile, or read a book, anything to keep busy.  And of course, the bathroom always needs cleaning.

*****

MY niece sitting on top of a snow bank and my daughter trying to reach the top,

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Waiting Wednesday…

Hump day has arrived.  That is what we called it in my working days.  Tomorrow is p**p  (S.H.I.T.) day and so forth.  I learned all kinds of things when I worked for the military.  Like how to use an occasional cuss word in Spanish when something didn’t go right.  One of my bosses was from Texas.  She spoke fluent Spanish and when she was irritated she would go into a tirade in that language.

*****

ti·rade/ˈtīrād/

Noun:

A long, angry speech of criticism or accusation: "a tirade of abuse".

*****

It wasn’t long before I learned some phrases to use when I was aggravated.  I still remember them all, I just won’t mention them here.  SGT. A was one of the best bosses I have ever had.  She was honest and didn’t beat around the bush when she wanted to get a point across.  Some of my bosses at the AFB could only be described as horse’s patooties.

*****

patootiesplural of pa·too·tie (Noun)

Noun:

1. A girlfriend or a pretty girl.
2. derogatory. A person’s or animal’s buttocks.

*****

But that is all in the past.  Today, in the present, I was at the hospital at 6:30 AM for lab work.  My daughter was with me.  We went to Steak  ‘n ‘ Shake for breakfast, and now I am home for the day. 

Mid to upper 90s predicted for the rest of this week and next with no rain in sight.  Our governor has declared Illinois a drought disaster state.  He toured some of the counties in southeastern Il a couple of days ago.  He opened an ear of corn and there were no kernels.  This is bad folks.  Illinois is right in the center of the corn belt.  Think of all of the things made from corn.  We will pay for this next year.

Try to stay cool and thank God that you are here to complain about the heat.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain…

YES!!  It is raining here in central Illinois. A nice steady rain for the last couple of hours with hardly any lightning,  God is good!!

    

From my front door and from the back door where you can also see the ‘tree’ that I take a picture of each month with the cemetery in the background.  Click to make pictures bigger. 

Yesterday was a good day for hitting the garage sales.  Hot but humid reaching the mid 90s.  The mid 90s are nothing after the week of 100 – 105 temps we had all last week.

At a garage sale yesterday a boy about 8 with a slightly older sister were manning their garage sale.  (I was praying that the mother was close by keeping a watchful eye on them)  There was a big table of coloring books and young children’s story books, most of them brand new.  I asked the boy how much these books were as I have a 3 year old great great niece here in town (yes, I meant to say great, great) and my daughter is in charge of the nursery at her church.  This boy told me that the more you buy, the better the deal.  He was so serious, I just started smiling.  He really made my day.  We settled on $1.25 for 11 books.  I feel that kid is destined to go far, probably in politics! 

I also got a few hardbacks, some DVDs,  and 3 cookbooks.  And a huge new Christmas tin that will be perfect for holding my homemade fruit cake while I have it soaking in the rum.  Less than $10 total spent.  Then my daughter and I ate at Bob Evans.  It was a very nice morning although very tiring. 

The rain has stopped now but I am thankful for each drop we got.  I hope you all have a pleasant weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!1

Beth

A reminder…

This is what I received in the mail yesterday.

    

from my dentist’s office…and just look at the cutesy stamp and postmark.

Sorry Mr. Dentist, no matter how you cartoon it up and put a mom heart on the postmark I am still not wanting to come visit you.  I honestly do have that right at the top of my list of things I hate to do.  I have my teeth cleaned every 6 months.  My mouth actually hurts for several days after.  I used to have a coworker that loved to go to the dentist.  I always thought she was a bit ditzy.  lol

*****

dit·zy/ˈditsē/

Adjective:

Silly or scatterbrained: "don’t tell me my ditzy secretary didn’t send you an invitation!"

*****

I found the perfect stress relaxer for yesterday afternoon.  I have this habit of putting leftover candy items in the freezer so they don’t tempt me.  I found a small bag of red, white and pink M&Ms, part of a bag of peanut M&Ms, about 1/3 package of Nestles chocolate chunks and about 1 cup of walnuts.  Using my trusty old Toll House cookie recipe and these goodies found in my freezer I made a batch of something that turned out to be very good.

For some reason, I can never take a good picture in my kitchen and my only knowledge with a camera is to point and shoot.  The plate of cookies (1 dozen) are for my daughter and son in law and the container of a dozen is for the freezer.  I guess I will have to eat what is in the bag.  lol

I hope you are all getting ready for a nice weekend.  Do Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Lakeside Cemetery…

One of my blogging friends asked me about the cemetery that is literally in my back yard.  Well, not quite, but almost.  lol  I have tried to research this cemetery but there is little information to be found on internet searches.  I personally know that some of the graves date back to the early 1800s.  I have not walked all of the cemetery but my daughter has and confirmed this for me.  My walks aren’t all that inclusive; after all I am 20 years older than her. 

 

The sign…                                                                  The mausoleum…

 

A couple of the pictures I took on one of my walks there.

I hope you all have a good week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Running late…

with my monthly picture of the tree between me and the cemetery.  The photo should have been taken on the 4th of July.  Sorry about that.  I will just blame it on the heat wave.

    

4 January 2012                                                         4 February 2012

    

4 March 2012  light dusting of snow                                     4 April 2012

   

4 May 2012                                            4 June 2012

8 July 2012  Notice how brown the grass is. 

We are in a drought here in central Illinois.  The temperature yesterday topped out at 103 degrees compared to the 105 on Saturday.  Today is to be cooler, high in the upper 80s.  It is 77 degrees right now.

I hope you all are having a peaceful Sunday.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Tenacious Thursday…

and the heat wave just keeps on keeping on.  We are fortunate here in central  Illinois as we are just having the terrible heat.  My nephew in Charleston WV has been without electricity  since last Friday night after a powerful thunder storm.  He had to discard a freezer and refrigerator full of food.  My heart goes out to those still suffering from power outages.  This heat wave is supposed to break next Monday and I hope that it does.

Yesterday was an uneventful day.  I heard all of the fireworks last night but didn’t go anywhere to watch them.  I even had the TV off and read while I listened to the loud booms.  And America is a year older!

This morning I do have to get out to mail some letters and early tomorrow morning I have another test at the hospital. 

Some news in the morning paper has led me to another rant.  At Hallendale Beach Florida a lifeguard, Thomas Lopez, helped save a drowning man and got fired for it.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/04/tomas-lopez-lifeguard-fired-hallandale-beach_n_1649803.html.  if you haven’t read this you have to click on the link and read it.  Thomas, my hat is off to you!

And another newsworthy thing.  I got a beautifully embossed thank you card from Sherman’s, the place where I purchased my TV last month.  Are they out for more business or what??  I saw on the internet that the Better Business Bureau had given this store an A+ rating.  My thank you note had a handwritten message in it signed by one of the biggies.  Terrible handwriting but the thought was there and my faith in mankind upped a little bit.

I do need to get going before it gets any hotter.  Predicted high for today actual temp is 101.

Stay cool and stay safe and be happy!!

Beth