Horse Creek

Memorial weekend, my mom went camping at Horse Creek. This is a picture of Abbie catching a trout. This is my brother, Craig, getting it off the hook for her.
My nephew, Andrew, showing his catch.
My niece, Rachel, showing the butterfly she caught.
Butterflies were swarming along the trail that we hiked. Actually, many were on the verge of dying. They had laid their eggs and were at the end of their life cycle.
Abbie and my niece Haley playing in the creek.

A cicada - see the red/orange eyes looking at you?
This is a cicada that has just emerged from its shell. This one is still working its wings, drying them off. Its body is still soft and has not finished changing colors.
More butterflies - these are near the creek getting water.
Look closely. This is a picture of strings of eggs in the water. They were corkscrewed with little black dots inside - hundreds of black dots. They are laying on fallen leaves that are under the water. This is very cold creek water. We originally thought these were frog eggs. A little further away from this area, there were eggs that had hatched. There were tiny little black creatures that were hatched but still attached to the stuff they had hatched out of - I don't know what you call it.
this is a close up. these were not hatched. When you lifted them from the water, they straightened out of their corkscrew. It felt a little like jelly. My brother said they were NOT frog eggs but leaches. I find that hard to believe. We have never seen leaches or have ever heard of anyone getting leaches on them at Horse Creek. Surely the water is too cold. I will have to research this.

A Few of My Favorite Things - Outside

This is our bluebird house that currently has little babies inside. A man at my church made this for me. Bluebirds make nests and lay eggs twice a year. The plant growing along side it is another favorite thing. It is a clematis. Paul has sprayed it with roundup and has "weed-eated" it and caused a lot of damage to it, but it eventually grows back. :)

This is a big oak tree in the front yard, on the corner. It provides a lot of shade and has a great canopy. Abbie and I love to spread a blanket under it in the summer. We have picnics here.
This is a decorative rock. We bought this rock and the silly thing was not cheap. It was part of our landscaping package design that we bought a few years back. Abbie loves to sit on it and it has a nice green patina of algae.

A view of our neighborhood when we go for a walk. Walking around the neighborhood is one of my favorite things. This area represents the forested part of our neighborhood. This is also the beginning of Lamplight Way. Remember, I mentioned once that we have named different sections of our neighborhood. Many of the houses in this area have lamps at the end of their driveways or sidewalks. It is nice to walk through here after dark. Just around the bend (up ahead, bearing to the right) is The Poison Ivy Forest.
In this picture, there is a buckeye tree. In the fall, I'll try to remember to post of picture of an actual buckeye - the thing Abbie enjoys collecting (me too)! This tree is at a neighbor's house, but they have given us permission to pick up the buckeyes especially since they get in their way when they mow.
The hilly, woods in the background - one of my favorite things about living in Tennessee, about living outside the city limits, and about the views I have when we take a walk. During our walk, we usually walk to the end of this road which ends at a farm (Keeland Farm, hence the name of our neighborhood - Keeland Heights). At the end of the road, there is a field of cows. We stop and moo at them if they are close to the fence. The house to the right is the one the former owners built after they sold us this one.
The top and bottom picture is two different views of Ghost Hollow. When you walk through this area, there is a very noticeable difference in temperature - much cooler than any other area on our walk. There is a bit of a valley or depression which funnels colder air across the road, but I like the idea that the cold is caused by ghosts. Maybe many civil war soldiers died here?
This view is looking down on Ghost Hollow.

I love getting pedicures. This counts as a favorite thing outside since I am outside! I do not know why I have such a large space between my big toe and the one beside it. But I can live with it. :)
Laying on the ground, looking up through the canopy of that oak tree in the front yard.

Abbie's playground that Paul built. We redid it this year by laying railroad ties around the perimeter (and enlarging the perimeter) and changing the mulch inside to playground chips. But we can't take credit for the work - we paid our landscaper to do it.
Bumblebees! Can you see this one that is out of focus? He is small and cute and fuzzy. Abbie loves for Paul to tell her about the time he got stung when he tried to pet a fuzzy bumblebee. Last year, we had NO bumblebees at our house. NONE! I think that is terrible. This is the first one I've seen this year. Once my lamb's ear starts blooming, I hope to see many, many bumblebees because they love that plant's blooms. I hope the experts figure out what is happening to our bees. Truthfully, I don't like bees. The first time I ever got stung (by a plain honeybee), I was home during the summer and both parents were at work (I have issues with being a latchkey kid - maybe someday I'll tell the weird things I did and felt from being left alone while my parents worked). The sting was very painful, and I didn't know what to do. Another time, I was in the woods with some relatives and they accidentally stirred up a nest of yellow jackets. I didn't get stung, but as I was running, I got several bees caught in my hair. That noise and knowing they were tangled in my hair sort of fried my nerves. You can ask Paul - if a bee flies near my face, you'll see me overreact. I know better, but that is what I do. Now that we have Abbie, I am doing much better at controlling my fear because I don't want her to learn this bad habit from me. One thing I have learned and that we are constantly reminding Abbie is that bees like flowers, not people. If we don't bother them, they won't bother us. I'm totally cool when they are on flowers. The problems begin when they come whizzing past my face unexpectedly. :(

The robin's nest over our front door. There are 3 babies. My dad recently told me that robins always lay 4 eggs (I'll have to research that). This baby is listening to both its parents who are out in the yard giving flying instructions. He says, "not today, dad, not today."

The big oak tree in the backyard. Abbie likes to poke around the mulch underneath it. We have a squirrel feeder hanging in this tree. Unfortunately, this tree is very close to the property line with our neighbor so a lot of these leaves blow into his yard in the fall.
The upside down tomato planter that my niece made for me. Too bad that the neighbors have to look at it in an empty litter container.
Bluebirds - can you see her? She has a nest in a house in our backyard.

Lollipop Guild

Here is Abbie in her Lollipop Guild costume.
The curly flounce around the shoulders and skirt was very cute and feminine.
She wore flowers in her hair too. And she also has on makeup per the performance rules - brownish eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick and black mascara.
I am fairly proud of my ability to create a smooth bun (with no prior experience!). Some moms just don't have a clue on how to do it - the smooth part, not the bun part. I should create an instructional video on YouTube!
This is Abbie's friend, Tatum. Believe it or not, they are both in the second grade (they are also in the same class together at school). They are in different ballet classes at the ballet school because Tatum started taking ballet a couple of years before Abbie so she is more advanced. Tatum was a munchkin in the performance and her group had more parts and also danced with the older girls in some numbers. Tatum turned 8 in October and Abbie won't be 8 until June which accounts for some of the height difference, but Abbie is the smallest girl in her class. That's okay.

Gas Prices

It takes $75 to fill up Paul's truck and over $50 to fill my car.
I heard this interesting analogy recently to help put things in perspective - for those who complain about gas prices (including me).
If you buy a 16 oz latte for $3.15. That is 19 cents an ounce. A gallon of that latte would be $24.32!
The point of the analogy is to show that we can cut things from our budget - store bought latte, cable, etc - in order to afford gas. Of course, cutting out needless trips and car pooling will also help.
Once Abbie gets out of school, that will cut out 2 trips to town everyday. I think Paul may start driving my car to work, and I will use the truck sparingly for errands.
Other tips I found in my credit union newsletter:
1) Fill up in the early morning when it is cooler. the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. If you fill up in the afternoon and evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon.
2) Do not fill up if a tanker if currently filling the underground tanks at the station. Dirt and sludge is being stirred up when gas is added at high pressure from the trucks. That dirt and sludge could get into your tank.
3)Fill up when your gas tank is half full. The more gas you have in your tank, there is less air (and there is more technical stuff that I won't bother typing).
4) When filling up, do NOT squeeze the trigger to deliver the gas at the fastest speed. Fill up at the slow speed to minimize vapors. Vapors get sucked back into the underground tank and cause you to get less gas for your money.
I haven't fact-checked this info so I hope it is correct!

Baby Birds

We have a robin's nest above our front door. (I will post pictures soon). 3 heads were sticking out today, and I got a good picture. They are almost ready to leave the nest. We have avoided using the front door for awhile now b/c the mother flies off the nest every time we open the door, and I wanted to disturb her as little as possible.
After going on a walk this evening, I opened the front door, and all three babies flew out of the nest - squawking and pooping all over the porch. I guess they were pretty scared. Also, both parents were severely scolding me. The parents even stretched out their wings as if they were broken - I thought only kildeers did this to distract predators - apparently, robins do it too.
I went into the house and watched out the windows. I saw two of the babies in the yard, but couldn't locate the third one. I watched for awhile. The parents kept talking to the babies, trying to gather them up. They could fly but couldn't really get enough lift to get into a tree or back into a nest. One flew into the road and sat there. Soooooo....I gathered the two babies that I could find and put them in the big flower pot under their nest. This was a better place for them because we have an outdoor cat that eats wild animals and especially likes birds.
I checked on them after 30 minutes, and they were gone. Without too much begging, Paul agreed to help me get them back in their nest. It's a myth that you can't touch baby birds because they can't smell, but the parents sure don't like you messing them and you do risk causing the babies to be abandoned. Since the birds are on the brink of leaving the nest permanantly, I decided it was best to give them an extra chance so the cat wouldn't get them. I can't reach the nest so Paul set up a bar stool while I went in search of babies. I found all 3 and Paul successfully got them back in the nest. I almost got flogged by the parents while I collected the babies, but I was brave and determined. They seemed to be pretty happy to be back in their nest and did not fly out again (I was afraid that when Paul got down and moved the chair, they would fly out again).
Paul was impressed at how calm the babies were and that they let me catch them. I jokingly told him that I had tamed them. :)
Besides getting them into their nest, I'm mostly thankful that Paul agreed to help me. He usually disagrees with my hairbrained animal rescue plans. I just knew he would say, "just leave them alone and let nature take its course." Whew!
And we have baby bluebirds in a house out back. And I think there is a nest of wrens or chikadees in a house near the playground. I will post pictures soon. These are some of my favorite outdoor things.
Abbie and I are also making plans to create a butterfly habitat in some section of the yard. She wants me to plant some milkweed so we can attract monarchs.

Long Weekend

On Friday, Abbie had her Spring Ballet Performance titled "Come with Me to the Emerald City." Her group had one number; they were the Lollipop Guild. Her group did really well. She struggles just a tiny bit with being nervous, but I told that she was veteran now - this being her fourth recital. Every time I think I'm going to change ballet companies (I have a whole list of complaints that I ignore most of the year, but all of it starts getting under my skin by the end of spring), I change my mind when I see the Spring Performance. The teachers choreograph the whole thing from scratch - from the handmade costumes to the sets to the dance routines. The first part of the recital was a shortened version of The Wizard of Oz. After the intermission, the older girls did numbers to songs from The Wiz and Wicked. It was a great performance.
At the ballet company that Abbie goes to: there are several things that influence whether you get a good part in a performance: 1) how well you dance (obviously), 2) how many classes you attend, 3) how many extra classes and workshops and summer classes you take, 4) how much money your parents donate to the foundation, 5) how much your parents volunteer for productions, costumes, set design, website maintenance, cleaning the studio, and a host of other duties, 6) how well the dancer adheres to the dress code, 7) whether the dancer wears a bun to every class, and much more. For a while, I was immune to all these spoken and unspoken prerequisites, but if Abbie chooses to pursue ballet long term, I can see that I am going to have to "pony up." This year, I've already given in some - I took brownies and soda to the reception after the performance and I made small donation of the foundation. After the recital, Abbie went to sleepover at the neighbor's house. I bought her her first sleeping bag for this event so she was really excited.
On Saturday, we drove to Greeneville to Horse Creek where my mom was camping. I love, love going to Horse Creek. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece were already there. My niece, Haley, had brought her new, fluffy, white kitten with her - THAT got me sidetracked for a while. I HAD to play with that sweet thing! Then we went fishing (only kids and seniors are allowed to fish since this is a National Park). Abbie loved it. She and Haley caught several trout that my brother cleaned and grilled. My brother taught Paul how to clean a fish and he enjoyed learning how to do it. Back at the campsite, cicadas were finishing the last of their metamorphasis process - it was interesting to watch. Abbie and Haley ran all around the campsite collecting the hard cicada shells that were stuck to the trees and bushes. Unfortunately for the cicadas, my brother collected them to use for bait. Ah well, I guess that is the circle of life because the trout loved them! Later, we went on a long hike. I think this was the furtherest I've ever gone back into the mountains at this site. We were late getting back for supper. Outside the forest, it was a really warm day, but inside the dense canopy, it was cool so we kept a nice fire going. I think playing in the fire is one of Paul's favorite activities. Throughout the day, we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, played cards, and sat around the fire talking. We left around 9:00 because we don't have a tent anymore. We are seriously thinking about buying a small teardrop camper. I hope we can find one! We drove to 2 RV places this weekend, but they didn't have any. I'm going to call on Tuesday and see when they expect to get some.
On Sunday, we skipped church. We made lunch plans with Paul's friend, Stephen and his family. After lunch, we went to Winged Deer Park to the marina area where there is a new playground. Abbie and Stephen's daughter, Addison, enjoyed wading at the boat ramp. After that, we were ready for ice cream and went to the Marble Slab. We stayed there for two hours talking. Abbie and Addison loved playing in the water fountain. They found two small snails and spent the majority of the time creating a snail habitat.
On Monday, we stuck around the house doing yardwork. I vacuumed and washed my car. Abbie loves to help with that. Paul spread some mulch and trimmed a big hedge along the back of the house. We had a picnic outside for lunch and dinner. There is a meatloaf that I make that I really like so I decided why not use the same recipe for hamburgers. So we tried it on the grill, and they were nice and flavorful. Paul tried out his new electronic grilling fork that he got for Christmas.
Abbie has 3-1/2 days of school left. Here comes summer!

A Few of My Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things (indoors). I'll do outdoors at another time. These are in no particular order:

Baby - our fat cat

Paul and Abbie's Lego creations
Maybe Paul and Abbie could get a job as a Lego engineer.

Sorry this is horizontal, I am too lazy to rotate it. This is a measuring cup from Pampered Chef. It measures liquids on one end and solids on the other end. What I like most about it is that it has tons of different measurements (ounces, cups, teaspoons, etc) - any measurement you could ever want.
Here is the solid measuring side. And no, I don't sell Pampered Chef; I just love their products.
Biosilk, Silk Therapy. You can get it at Target and it is expensive, but you only need a tiny, tiny amount. It smells SO good.
Colorful things - like this rug. It is new. It will be a bathroom rug at some point even though it does not currently match my current old timey bathroom wallpaper. It is chenille and super soft!And did I mention colorful?
Asian pears - yumm-mee!

Sunglasses - I cannot leave the house without a pair. I only buy the cheap kind otherwise I tend to drive over and crunch expensive ones.
3 things - reading, going to the library & bookstore, and reading chapter books with Abbie.
Abbie's drawings. Here is a rare picture of something other than bunnies as the subject.
My Pampered Chef kitchen shears. I use these puppies for EVERYTHING!
Are you seeing a trend here? This is my Pampered Chef spatula. I have many spatulas, and they all have nicks in them. This pair does not. They are superior and unfortunately, I only have this one from this brand. :(

My favorite thing is not so much the chandelier, it is that it is pretty and sparkly and clean because I climbed up there and painstakingly hand cleaned all those little crystals. As I finished, I realize that there was an easier way to do it - I'll try that next time.
Abbie!
All the beautiful peonies that I inherited from Victor (I didn't technically inherit them but given permission to dig up and replant at home). These are a sense of pride for me. I have loved peonies since I was a child and wanted to use them in my wedding, but I got married in June and they bloom in May.
This color is a real show stopper!
I also love the white fluffy ones - they make a beautiful bouquet, and these also smell nice. And actually these peonies do count as an "indoor" favorite thing since they are currently indoor.