Saturday Morning Sights

...raindrops saved by marigold petals...

...on a mission, fearless and scampering on the edge...

...a room with a view...

...follow me boys, it's now or never...

...eeny, meeny, miny, mo...

...lavendar's blue, dilly dilly...

...psst, don't forget me..

Here a Book, There a Book, Everywhere a Book, Book

A week or so ago, I didn't know what to read next. Since then, I've a long list of books that I've seen others reading or that my friends have recommended.

Here's my list.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Testament by John Grisham

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexandra McCall Smith

Sisterhood Series by Fern Michaels

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Born To Run by Christopher McDougal

As long as I'm accumulating a book list, why not make it extraordinarily long? Have you any titles you think I should add?

Since the Sixth

Since August 6th, I've been away from my computer. The reason being that Lon and I have been enjoying guests from Ohio since Saturday. My cousin, Lynnette, and Alice spend a few days with us every year at about this time. We're guaranteed fun from the minute they pull in the driveway until they back out. I can't imagine two easier guests.

Lynnette's always quick to smile. She's reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson.

Alice's sense of humor never fails to keep us all rocking and rolling. Her book is Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

In between our jaunts here and there, we stuck our noses in our novels. We're all book lovers; what can I say?

Our company arrived on Saturday afternoon. We anticipated that after their long drive they'd appreciate dining in rather than going out, thus, we grilled the meat and ate on the screen porch under our ceiling fan and safe from mosquitoes.

Our new kitchen countertops aren't getting much time to set as I had originally planned; I had to utilize them on Friday for preparing Saturday's dinner.

I made potato salad solely with my own two hands.

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Betty Crocker stepped in to help me with dessert. My part involved a little mixing, slipping the pan into the oven, pulling it out to cool on the counter and smearing frosting all over the top.
Voila, chocolate brownies. Darn, I forgot to take a picture.

A well-balanced meal should have a source of protein. There she be.

A summer feast isn't complete without ears of sweet corn. The poor naked things are shivering in the refrigerator awaiting their time.

Sunday afternoon, we drove to Madison to Roughing It in Style, a log home furnishings store. We sauntered among the abundance of unique pieces of furniture and unusual accessories. Amazingly, our hands were empty when we left, but our heads were full and spinning with ideas. I'm sure Lon and I will return soon.

Check it out at www.roughingitinstyle.com.

Our next stop was at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, also in Madison. We slipped in on the last day of the Blooming Butterflies exhibition. Unfortunately, in the excitement of having company, I hadn't charged my camera's battery. My meager collection of photos this trip will motivate us to come back here again too. See www.olbrich.org.



The elderly folks on the bench are Lon and me.

I captured a familiar monarch butterfly here. Several other species flew over our heads, fluttered around us and then paused for refreshment on the natural or man-made "flowers."

Can you see the yellow butterfly on the left side of the yellow flower?

From the gardens we drove back to Beloit. The Rock restaurant on the Rock River was our choice for dinner on Sunday. In spite of the heat and humidity, we found a perfect outside table where we were comfortable beside the water. The river was quiet due to high water restrictions.

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On Monday morning, I showed Lynnette and Alice through NorthPointe, the health and wellness facility where I hang out in hopes of staying fit and healthy. As we left, Alice said, "I want one."

After visiting Aunt Marcie in the afternoon, we went to Lake Geneva to do a bit of shopping and for dinner at Houlihan's.

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My son, Jared (on the far left), joined us for dinner that evening.

Tuesday morning required that we go our separate ways. Lynnette and Alice headed to Ohio while Lon, Jared and I went back to work.

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That's the scoop on Shaddy since the sixth.

Forgive Me My Trespasses

I've sinfully led you to believe that I seldom, if ever, cook. That's a bold-faced lie. Upon occasion, I bend down and wrestle with the mess of pots and pans in the deep cupboard where I hurriedly tossed them after their last outing. I hate messy cupboards but this particularly odd-shaped one is impossible to keep organized, especially when dinner is done, the dishes are clean and my belly's full. At that point, I only want to get out of the kitchen.

In the summer, I don't usually make spaghetti, but after a coworker made mention of it last week, I realized I was hungry enough for it to spend time in the kitchen throwing it together for dinner last Friday.

I boiled the macaroni, browned the ground beef and added the sauce (Prego Onion and Garlic). I cut up half a loaf of French bread and heated several thick slices wrapped in tinfoil in the oven.

Finally, with simmering, boiling and reheating going on in the background, I assembled two salads. Since all types of salad greens don't store and keep for long, I've given up on them. I cut up veggies, add shredded cheese (always sharp cheddar), sunflower seeds and dressing. I like Paul Newman's light dressings, especially his Newman's Own Light Raspberry and Walnut.

Yes, I will tell little white lies and exaggerate a tiny bit if I think it'll add zest to my blog posts. You don't mind terribly, do you?

Shaddy Survives Bloody Attack

My friend, Gully, who lives in Alaska, spends many hours every summer picking up roadside litter. I remembered this when I rode my bike past a heavily littered stretch of road on Sunday afternoon.

When I returned home, I grabbed two large trash bags and drove back to the trashed scene and set to work, cleaning it all up. I found some plastic and paper waste had even blown into the rows of corn.

Unfortunately a sharp strip of molding I'd picked up, punctured the trash bag and attacked my leg. Of course, tough girl that I am, I didn't even realize I was a victim until I saw my leg bleeding. Fortunately, my doctor had given me a tetanus shot a couple of months ago. I didn't request one, he just told me I should have one and the nurse stabbed me before I could faint.

Although, I ended up with only half a garbage bag of litter (honestly, I had expected to fill at least one bag if not two) and received a minor blood-letting wound along with traumatic injury to my lower left leg, my impromptu cleanup campaign was a brilliant success. I'm pleased to report that after I rested heavily for the remainder of the day and got a good night's sleep, I limped in to work on Monday without crutches or assistance of any kind.

Although, I'm dreading it, I expect a call any day now from one or more of the morning shows, requesting an interview. I had my hair colored yesterday to cover the gray and I've packed an outfit but really, I was only doing my part to keep America beautiful. Oh dear, I do so dread the publicity. (Excuse me, darlings, I almost forgot to pack my matching earrings).

Tis It August, Perchance?

As I considered the name of this month, and tried to think of a few words to write about it, I remembered that august is a fairly common word besides being the name given to the eighth month of the year.

My dictionary defines august as follows: marked by majestic dignity or grandeur.

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Having clarified the word's meaning, I'm certain I'll appreciate and savor the next twenty-eight days more deeply than ever before. Now, now, don't be rolling your eyes. I'm striving here to give all that's due to this month you and I have only recently entered. Let's try to be serious, shall we?

Moving on, I love the illustrations in my datebook, don't you? I'm especially enjoying the pink flowers. If I could draw like the artist, Sharon McCartney, I'd draw like her. Yes, I would. Really!

I'm learning something else about August, the month, that is, not the word. I'm having difficulty being serious in this month marked by majestic dignity and grandeur. I feel as though I should be respectful but it's truly hard for me and I don't know why. Hmmm...hmmm...hmmm...where lies the answer? I wonder. I suspect when you rolled your eyes, I lost my ability to keep a straight face.

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Let me try once more to be thoughtful. Stop, drop, scroll and read on my friends.
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Will is the root,

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knowledge is the stem and leaves,

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and feeling is the flower.

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-Sterling

Would this month by any other name be as majestic or grand?

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(P.S. Don't get excited. The first person to comment doesn't get my datebook. :)

Bar Hopping Again!

A couple of days ago, I received this e-mail from Crystal in marketing at Edy's. She was informing me that I could expect the fruit bar certificates she had promised me via UPS 1st class mail! Cool! I was pleased to know they'd be here soon and I was surprised that she'd taken the time to e-mail me again.

Sure enough, on Friday, I received not one, two, or three, but FOUR certificates for free packages of Edy's Fruit Bars.

I'm impressed and delighted with these tokens of appreciation for featuring their fruit bars on my blog post titled Shaddy Hits The Bars.

I'd anticipated getting one or two certificates which would have been just hunky. When I counted four, I smiled big, my mouth started watering and I hopped up and down with glee. Edy's Fruit Bars are my favorite treat this summer; I have at least two everyday from my ever-present selection of grape, pomegranate and strawberry flavors.

I'd like to share the "fruits" of my good fortune. The first two readers who respond to this post will each win a certificate. Please e-mail your mailing address to me at paintit2@charter.net and I'll send them out right away.