A case of HOW THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT?!

I have, in my life, done some pretty stupid things...but this one takes the prize!

You might wonder what this is...this is what happens when you try to grab a bundle of balloons with an open pair of scissors in one hand! There are five beautiful stitches there and now, after finding out I cut the nerves in the thumb running down to the palm, a nice cast from the bottom of my fingers to mid forearm. The surgery was the easy part; a nice cocktail of fentynyl and some other really good drug and I was gonzo! Woke up with this beautiful cast that everyone has signed and doodled on. I went last Friday to have the stitches removed and the cast removed only to have a spica splint put on because the thumb must stay straight until the 19th. So now it looks like I'm permanently "thumbing". The scar from the stitches is nice - healing quite well actually. I just can't move the thumb without pain yet. The nerves are still healing and as we all know (or anyone who has taken anatomy more than once) they take a bucketload of time to heal! I'm on the mend though. Chaz and the kids are taking wonderful care of me which is always very nice. One good thing? NO DOING DISHES FOR ME...MUWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!

My Goofy Kids

I just realized I had all three of my chicks in the henhouse at the same time so I grabbed the camera and shot a photo of them, all in one place for a change! Think of this as a rose between two thorns!!!

Like leaves, my thoughts are scattered

Just like the leaves blowing around, my thoughts lately are scattered willy nilly! I have school on the front burner as usual, the kids' schedules are pretty quiet right now, soccer is winding down, but basketball is coming up quickly! I don't know if my girl wants to play this year; there was talk of not playing because there wasn't going to be a coach but we'll see. Things with Mr. Chaz are going so well it's kinda scary! The expression "too good to be true" doesn't seem to apply here though. He's as good as he says and he's the sweetheart he seems. I'm not a "take care of me" kinda gal but it's nice to have someone genuinely take care of you without question. We're talking random back rubs, a glass of water because I'm coughing a little, rubbing my tired feet after standing at work all day, a hug just because he's standing there, sitting through a marathon of Bridezilla just because it's a HOOT of a show... and not complaining! It's all the little things that make up a sweetheart.

Chaz and I went out to a swing dance a couple of weeks ago. We had a good time - here's a photo of us at the end of the night...

Here's another interesting picture taken early this spring. Question: which one is the girl and which one is the boy? Answer later!

Someone needs a haircut!!

For those that don't know, I am one of the backs, the other is my son, age 16. I think we're trying to see whose hair can get the longest!

How Do I Say This?

Have you ever found someone that you feel was put in front of you by a force not of this world? Almost like God said, "hey, I found this guy for you...what do you think?" Well, it is with a huge grin that I introduce my beau Chaz.

We met back in late May and have been almost inseparable since! Sometimes I feel like he's my left hand; the missing sock to go on my bare foot; the cherry on the sundae of my life. We're sitting on Sugarloaf in Deerfield after spending a rather nice day strolling through Yankee Candle. My canoe has gotten wet this summer, paddling around Tully Lake and Brown's Pond. We've been to the Quechee Balloon Festival too; what a weekend that was for sure! I've never seen so many hot air balloons in one place!

For a nice family day, we took the kids to Six Flags. They like him for the simple reason is he's low-key; he's been getting to know each of them on their own level, and not talking down to them or trying to be too forceful with them.

More on this to come in the very near future...

More Apple Photos

A beautiful display of fall colors. It's not quite fall yet, but the last few days have been crisp and cool, although tonight it's slightly rainy.

This is my apple princess...isn't she lovely?

We went apple picking and couldn't reach some lovely looking red gravensteins so my daredevil carefully climbed into the tree to pick the tastiest apples without damaging nary a leaf on the tree. Here we are sharing a moment before picking peaches.

'Tis the Season for APPLE PIE!

This is not my first attempt at apple pie but it is certainly the PURTIEST apple pie I have ever ever made! Yes, it's sugar/cinnamon sprinkled, baked at 375 for precisely 50 minutes (25 with the foil on the edges, 25 with foil off).

We just added scoops of French Vanilla ice cream and it was almost better than....well, you know what I'm thinking!!

BOOM!

Did you ever start something and wonder...WHAT was I thinking?!

I was making this delicious blueberry buckle for dessert tonight. I've done the recipe once before - it's from scratch (no, not a BETTY CROCKER box but flour, sugar, salt, etc...) Anyhooo....I mixed the cake batter, put in the nice fresh blueberries from Chaz's garden and turned my back for a minute to make the topping that goes on duh, the top of the cake. I'm mixing the butter, sugar, and cinnamon....BOOOOOM! What started out as a nice dessert...went BOOM all over my kitchen! LITERALLY! There goes the glass pyrex 11x13 pan AND batter all over the stove, the floor, the sides of the fridge, the side of the cabinet, the floor...glass and batter...E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! I let out a blood curdling scream, followed by CHAAAAAZZZ HELLLLPPPP!! Now did I mention that I was barefoot at the time?? Nah, probably not. I was quickly hustled out of the kitchen so that my Prince Charming could clean up the glass and batter mess that was dripping down the front of the stove.

Did I take pictures? Of course not! Did I mention that I put the pan on the stovetop...with the burner on low since I had been making baked macaroni and cheese for dinner....yah...I wasn't paying attention I know. I had not CLUE one that a glass pan would do that!

CAN I GET AN AMEN!?

Well, here he is...my baby...seconds after his graduation from high school. It seems like just y-e-s-t-e-r-d-a-y this little boy was sitting on my knee, asking me for more juice, more cookie, more stories...In the flash of an eye, he's an adult, entering into the world. He's moving on to college in the fall - criminal justice is his chosen field for now. Was it emotional for me? You bet! He's the first one of the kids, both grand and not, to graduate. He's setting the example for his brother and sister to follow, as well as three cousins that are mixed in as well. Proud of him? Yes we are!!!