...

I am so tired, and yet I am gonna slap some gyppy bloggin' on ya right quick.
Today I did lots o' stuff. I made this cute bird cage necklace! It is 40 inches long and has a big birdcage charm at the bottom with a door that opens and a wee little bird swinging on its perch inside.
It's hard to get good pics of long necklaces, where the proportions are more important and you want to show the whole thing. Now I'll have to make that dress form I've been thinking up...

Also I whipped up this home made lemon poundcake. Yum. Mmmm...

I then took above lb.cake to the farm to meet with Conni's clan and her daughter Julie and d.i.l. Wendy. Oh, also Julie's husband and his son. Big group!

Kids was errywhere, shooting the bow, chasing each other around, eating ice cream with brownies & lemon poundcake and playing with good ol' sparklers.

They tolerated lots of group picture taking, you know, the kind that cramps your style after about age 9? They were great.

They all got turns at the bow, and they really all did quite well too. Look at the form on this one!

Okay, I had a great Friday and have to get to bed to get up an face the rest of my awesome, fun filled weekend!
More to follow...

Law it's hot!

Gibson's in Laurel it's hot here! In Laurel Mississippi there was a store named "Gibson's", their TV commercials were the usual local fare; over the top regional redneckery. Kind of like the commercial for Samson's used cars here in Charlotte where the guy walks around his used car lot and stops by the car with his dog on the hood and hollers "Come on down and see Spot & I, we're dealin'!" He raised his right hand up in the air and kind of made a circle with his index finger when he said "we're dealin'!"
The Gibson's commercial had a guy who hollered "WOO, Gibson's in Laurel!" to impress upon you the importance of their bargains. My parents who are from Laurel often say "Gibson's in Laurel it's HOT!" on days like these.
Today has been a Gibson's in Laurel day on the official heat index; too damn hot. I went to my sister's for a bit but came home early because I was just too "G.I.L." hot. I have found myself busy in front of the fan with the window unit a/c going full blast, sorting through pictures on my computer.
Here is a sneak peek at something I started yesterday. I can't wait to finish her!!!

On my way home I stopped by Mom's house, which was blissfully cool, to take some cuttings from her hydrangeas, another thing that reminds me of Mississippi. My Granny Jefcoats was every bit the green thumb a granny should be, and more. She was forever rooting plants, tending to her flowers and her garden, saving Dairy Queen cups to start seedlings in.

The classic light blue hydrangea blossom always conjures up memories of playing in the yard in summertime. We had one of Granny's hydrangeas at the back corner of our house and I remember playing in it when it towered over me. Just be-boppin' around, finding June Bug empties and attaching them to my shirt; the hydrangea was always a good place to find these, and Daddy Long Legs too.
I love having fresh flowers in my house, especially in my bedroom, especially real ones as in not bought at the store. Stick in a few Kimberly Queen fronds and viola! Or should I say "Hocus Pocus Chevrolet Nocus!" Another Mississippi treasure, my Popaw says that. He is quite the wordsmith, I am hoping my Dad will write a book about him, I'm not good enough a writer yet to tackle the legend that is Red Caldwell.

My other great grandmother,Popaw's mother "B-Mama" was one Hell of a Mississippi figure too. On hot days like these (but worse) she would tell a young Red Caldwell "I can't wait for the first frost. I will plop my fat ass right up here on this tin roof and cool off!"
Come to think of it, that would feel good.
So Hocus Pocus Chevrolet Nocus, WOO, Gibson's in Laurel try to stay cool any way you can. It's a long way off 'til the next frost.

Summer Solstice

Today was the 2010 Summer Solstice, an important celestial event and a time to be fruitful and enjoy the longest day of the whole year.

I spent the day with my sister & her kids, we went black berry pickin' near her house. I love blackberries, they're so summery!

This little jewel was nestled in some leaves...he doesn't know he is perfect 'possum food. Opossums eat these and other insects like M&Ms.

It was hot & humid, could have been worse but it was muggier than early on in the day. I have naturally curly hair which coils up in the humidity somethin' awful. The best is when I can feel beads of sweat fall off the ends of my curls onto my shoulders.

My eyes are green, but not in this picture.

I love the light at the end of the day, everything is sideways. The kids all bebop around Bran with various commentaries and complaints. But they will surely have fond memories of observing the solstice with their Mom & aunt out amongst nature; as it should be.

Cassie & Danny are game for anything! Cassie took off her pants & flip flops and left them by the creek early on and then complained about not having them to Bran! We just laughed about how when we were little we would never have confessed to such a lapse in responsibility for your gear much less complained to a parent about it. My how times have changed! She picked them up on the way back and all was well.

Bran proudly displays the fruits of her labor. "Had she purchased them elsewhere they would have been costly!"
Danny took to the foraging with much appreciated gusto.

The sun sets and the moon rises on this,

the longest day of the year!

I know I have not been present on the blogosphere lately... I have been exhausted all week, I think due to the heat & MS. I don't do well in the heat which is a shame because I really like to get out in it. I never know when I feel this way if ms is to blame or if I'm just being lazy! I should be able to differentiate by now.
In other news I have a new roommate! This praying mantis took up residence in my bathroom! I love mantids (I had to look up the plural). I was just about to spray in there with insecticide too. Now I'm just hoping he'll eat all the other insects, but either way I can't risk poisoning him.
I love these insects so much because they are so beautiful and unusual, they always reming me of aliens with their triangle heads and green exterior.
I am taking his appearance in my house (I've never had one show up inside before) as a good omen and a blessing.
At least I have a very swanky bedroom with plenty o' ambiance in which to "max & relax".