Coffee Chat - Rain, glorious rain

Come on in!  There's coffee, cookies, iced water, strawberries...something for everyone this evening, I think.

I've been so busy my head spins thinking of it all.    It's hard to believe it's been nearly two weeks since our last visit.  The days have flown by, really they have, and I've flown right along with them.  I can't imagine how I'd have kept up with a garden this year, too, so I suppose the dry weather we've had is a blessing in one way.  Oh but it isn't so terribly dry at the moment.  We've had a whole day nearly of rain this week and it was glorious.  Went to sleep with the sound of raindrops on our metal roof Sunday evening....but I'm ahead of myself.

We survived the birth month of June, thank goodness.  Kay got her card and gift on Thursday and that was the last of the June legion.  Now we've two in July and two in August and then we get a reprieve for a good bit.  The July gifts are pretty much taken care of.  I found something lovely for my oldest step grand daughter and we've picked out our youngest grandson's gift and just need to order it.  So July will be a breeze compared to the end of May and all through June business of birthdays.

Let's see.  I don't think I can remember all I've done.  I do recall that Alan came to visit the day after I last wrote, and then returned again on Father's Day.  And I spent at least one morning in the yard raking up limbs and leaves and putting down mulch and finished painting the glider.  Oh yes...That's the day a big blow came along and blew down more limbs and leaves and flipped the glider before the paint was dry and blew Maddie's wading pool away over the propane tank where it lodged between the house and the tank and filled with water.  The following Sabbath day was an especially long one and it was suppertime when we got in, starving we were that day.

We cooked out Father's Day and visited with Alan.  Kay's present for her dad arrived which pleased him no end as she sent more pajama pants, the soundtrack to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and guitar strings.  I've heard the "Augustus Gloop" song a million times since then, lol.

We went out on the following Tuesday and I got buttons at the thrift shop, which I still haven't put on my pillow shams but fully mean to do so this week.  Oh and the most beautiful glasses for just $.49 each.  Here, look at how pretty they are:

I think they have a sort of art deco era look to them.  I don't know just what drink should go in them but I thought they'd make nice ice cream sundae dishes for us.  Fancy that on the table!

Wednesday I was out with Mama and shopped very carefully.  I bought a new drying rack, some cotton flour sack towels, a 1 cup glass measuring cup.  Nothing fancy and nothing impulsive.

Thursday I cooked until I felt right faint between the heat and the number of recipes being made.  I put three meals into the freezer that day, most of which will appear on this week's table for meals, I think.  I've got a nice stash of leftovers just today from lunch and the frozen pizza, so we'll see how that goes.  And Friday came along and I worked hard in the yard picking up limbs and raking the lawn.  With the dry weather we've got a lot of limbs and leaves on the lawn.  I worked until I couldn't stand working any longer, then came indoors to cool off and tackle the house hard.  I gave it a real good clean and then went about the kitchen decluttering the counter tops. Now it looks neat and pretty and I am enjoying the free space.

The breakfast area all ready for a nice cup of coffee...

I put the dish drainer under the cabinet because, honestly, I only use it for a couple hours of each day.  I think I want to remove the cup rack from this wall.  My brother gave me a tin sign that looks vintage and I think I'd like to have it hanging here on this wall where we make and serve coffee most often.

I hung Grandmama's old rooster cutting board.  I've loved that silly cutting board for more years than I can count and she gave it to me many many years ago.  It took some battering and abuse for a few years, but I cleaned it up really good and found paints that matched the original and went over it.  Now it's all for show and not for use.  And doesn't it look right at home with my paper dispenser?

I know the crock pot looks odd atop the microwave, but there's a plug there and it never has to be unplugged so it works for me.  In an ideal world, I'd wall mount the microwave, but I've yet to have the ideal world in my home, lol.  I suppose I should move the big container of rice, too.  It won't fit in the cabinet, but it's awfully handy.  I'll move that into the pantry cupboard.  And it's high time to go through my utensils once more.  The toaster could go under the cabinet but I left it handy for Chance... These of course, are little things that I see in the photo now of course.   I think I want to paint the tea stand a bright shiny red...What do you think? By the way, in that tea stand note that the first ring holds a bowl...It's perfectly handy for nuts and a nutcracker. 

Not a good shot of this area...It's so hard to take photos near windows this time of year.  The little shelf had a whole row of tea cups, salt cellars, cuttings I was rooting.  I neatened that space up considerably.

Now I also cleaned the baking center, but there's no place to put all the stuff I keep on that counter at the moment.  It just has to stay as is, but it's clean, if not neat.  So no photos of that today.

These two days, Thursday and Friday of working hard back to back wore me out.  I was quite happy to come into Shabbat rest Friday at sundown and I didn't do much at all beyond going to synagogue.  I'd meant to go to the library and turned down not one but two invitations just so I could go, but the silly county changed their hours for the summer months and are now closed on Saturdays.  I came right home, though I was terribly tempted to stop here and there and everywhere for a bite to eat.  I had food aplenty in the fridge from my marathon session on Thursday.  I did make some homemade biscuits.  I felt the strong need of comfort food that day and biscuits are a 'safe' treat for me.  One or two and I'm done, unlike say Oreos or BBQ potato chips!  We just don't do those two except on rare occasions.

I was still feeling pretty drained Sunday, but got up and went outdoors to the yard because if I do don't it, it's not ever going to get done.  Oh that was HOT work!  I came indoors and did some light housework, and then I went back outdoors and painted the cafe table and one chair.  I ran out of paint, didn't much like the color and still don't.  It's just this side of the color it was, which isn't the color it was supposed to turn out to be.  I'll be looking for new paint this week and I'll get two cans this time. 

I did remember to stay out of the wind direction that day, but Maddie...Well Maddie got a good snoutful of paint.  I heard her make a funny sound, looked up just in time to see her eyes cross and she dropped to the ground and rubbed her face and rubbed her face and stood up and looked dizzy and dropped to the ground and rubbed her face on the other side.  She wasn't in deep distress, but she was definitely NOT liking the paint.  After she stood up and sneezed mightily four or five times she went off somewhere well out of the way.  I couldn't help but laugh at her and how silly she looked.

I went indoors and got all cleaned up and ready to go into town.  I'd planned to visit Granny, get a paper, perhaps buy peaches at the peach shed.  However, as I put my hand on the doorknob, someone knocked on the other side.  Mama had come by to invite me to go to lunch with her.  She told me she'd just left Granny and she'd been sound asleep.  I was tired, and oh I so wanted to say no thanks, but somehow I felt I ought to go with Mama.  We had a nice, but quiet lunch.  We talked a bit on the ride over to the restaurant and Mama said the Assisted Living Center has suggested calling in hospice for Granny.  I wasn't shocked or upset at the news.  I've been expecting it really, but I think Mama needed to be with someone while she absorbed the news.  By the time I was back home again, I was wiped out physically.  I put on my Netflix movie, Nanny McPhee Returns, and lost myself in the lovely setting for an hour and half.  It was a rather good sequel to Nanny McPhee really with a surprise at the very end.

And so Sunday slipped away from me.  I guess much as I might have expected the news the reality of it really hit me once I was away from Mama.  No weeping or gnashing of teeth but I found myself reading July blog entries from years ago and Granny was very much a part of most of my mornings.  I really miss her a great deal, as she was...

That evening the wind picked up and the clouds gathered and the wind blew for all it was worth.  I sat at the window and watched the storm come in until I heard Chance coming up the drive.  We had rain when he came in and it was raining still when we went to bed that night and it was sprinkling when we said goodbye Monday morning. It rained all morning long and into the afternoon yesterday. 

The rain was most welcome, truly it was, but I worried just a bit.  You see my friend V took off to Texas to meet up with her husband B.  He's coming home from Afghanistan and her excitement was so great it got me all excited too, lol. 

 I went to work on various tasks including a marathon baking session, and a marathon grocery list making session.  Keeping busy was needed this day.   I wore myself out and that's the truth. I should've worked on a portion of my lists over the latter part of last week but I didn't and so I paid for it yesterday.  We had Harvest Night in our home yesterday evening and shortly after Chance practiced his songs for Saturday service, then I crept quietly off to bed to read.  I don't think I read two words and I was so nearly finished with the book, the same one I mentioned two weeks ago, Austen in Boca. 

So here we are at today.  I shopped, I stopped before I was finished because it was getting hot, I was hungry and frustrated at how quickly the money seemed to be going out of my hands, so I came home.  I have enough money left to buy more milk,bread,produce before next pay period and perhaps anything else we find we need.  I did have the pleasure of a 'find' today and I'm adding it to my project list for July/August...I can't wait to see how it turns out.  But that is a story for another day...I should wind up here and have my evening cup of milk.  Time for early rising girls to start the bedtime routine.

I promise, I promise to try really hard not to let but one week go by before we have coffee again, okay?  I have a Homemaking 101 post in the works and an idea for this week's Bringing Back An Old Fashioned Summer posts, so stay tuned and good night!