God said to love one another right???  He even said to love thine enemies.  We should love all people!!!  We should even try our best to LIKE them.  LOL  That is one thing my mother and I used to chat about.  She would say, I love so and so because God told me to, and I work hard at it, but I don't necessarily "like" them.  It's hard sometimes to love others, even your friends and family, when they can have such ugliness inside, such judging attitudes and their words towards others make you cringe.

The short story is, we gathered at my brother's house for Fourth of July.  The company was good, the food was wonderful, and the kids played and giggled (sometimes too loudly might I add.....but that is a good thing!)  We were forced to eat inside with the chill in the air and the fear of a downpour at any time, but it did hold off some, so that was wonderful as well.  We sat around the table and ate and chatted with my brother who seems to have some of the same favorite TV shows as Matthew and I.

Then after eating, the guys all gathered downstairs to play the Playstation or X-Box.  The kids were playing well, and I settled at the dining room table to chat with the girls (5 of us from 21 to 60).  It was then that I realized, my family is like this EVERY TIME, and it seems my brain forgets it and tries to give them a second chance each time.  UGH!

First the conversation was about Megan, and her baby (due in October) and all the cute things she has boughgt for the bedroom, and the clothing that Tammy (who will be the gma for the first time) bought, etc.  It was a sweet conversation.  It went downhill fast from there!!!!  The conversation went to my neice's MIL and how she "says" she has bought the baby tons of stuff, but she hasn't shown any of it to Megan yet, and how she bettter not forget this child's bday, and how she baby's her own neice but not her own child and wife, she gives money to everyone except them, etc.   I have been there....with the MIL troubles....still are there in alot of ways.  We are trying to work things out and ignore the bad and focus on the good with Matthew's parents.  Isn't that what God does to us????  I want to havev a relationship with my inlaws so I try much harder than I think I should some times.  But my neice has been married a year and she is already starting in the hate game.  Shame.  And her own mother of course sits there and coaches her and eggs her on instead of saying, now hunny, I am sure she had a good reason to do that, or if you have a problem with that, please go talk to her and not talk behind her back, etc.   It really is a shame.

But it went down hill farther from there.  A gal from their church dresses inappropriately evidentially.  Everyone knows and everyone talks about it behind her back.  Her own 13 year old daughter and 16 year old son have told her about it and that it embarasses them, but she does nothing.  Her own daughter told her she dresses like a hooker or a slut.  OMG!  And eveidentially she was serving communion in the churcch with her hubby with a LOW CUT top and VERY MINI skirt and some of the guys "saw things" they shouldn't!!  GEE WHIZ!!  Why isn't someone saying something to her??? Why didn't the pastor say, this is inappropriate, please dress appropriately especially when you are serving communion!!!

Dr. H has a new wife evidentially.  The girls weren't sure if they met on the internet or if she was a mail order bride, but they say she isn't really pretty.  So everyone had to rush to the laptop to see pictures of his new wife from the Ukraine, and his 2 new step daughters at their reccent wedding.  (Dr. H is a very nice looking man, and the daughters were adorable.  I think the reason they said she wasn't pretty was because she had some BLACK mascara on....she had cried at the wedding and thus had some under her eyes.  Other than that, she was very pretty!)

So and so has Hepatitis and is dating so and so.  Yes he knew she had it when they started dating.  I know he is nuts, but he loves her.  That's gross, etc.  Oh and then they started talking about people who weren't proportionate.  LOL  So and so'd butt doesn't fit the rest of her body, etc.  The one I always laugh at is how a few of the bigger gals talk about someone else who is FAT.  Look in the mirror.  That's all I can say.  I know....that wasn't nice.  Sorry.  They rubbed off on me perhaps.

We spent two and a half hours out there before coming home and starting our own firework display here at the house (Noah and I had a blast as Matthew put on quite a display for a whole $32.00).  And in that time I never heard once that they said M is a sweetheart.  Did you know J got married??? They are so happy!  Or, wow, I sure do miss K and how she used to.....blah blah blah.  I heard them talk about V and her new gorgeous baby, but then it went into another girl who has a child who is "not right" and man were they glad they didn't have to deal with that.  *yawn*

By the time we all loaded up in the car, Matthew and I were a little on edge (he said something, I misunderstood, plus his ADHD was pegged out with all the noise and commotion of the family, and yes, we were all tired), that I hate to say we whined and griped at each other and about the family gathering all the way home.  UGH!

It wasn't until we got home, that we talked about the misunderstanding and patched that up, rested a little, played some Christian music to sooth all of our nerves and were finally able to put a smile on and speak joy and love again.  It really is sad how others can rub off on you like that.  Just being around a houseful of that for a few hours had us nipping at each other and had taken our joy level to a very dangerous low level.

Thankfully, we were able to pull out of it, go outside and enjoy the fireworkds.  We were able to see most of the citywide display from our front porch, plus some other neighborhood displays as well as the items Noah and Matthew picked out.  Noah was so funny shouting out the colors of the displays as he saw them and actually couting the roman candles as well.  RED! GREEN! BLUE!!  LOL  We had a great time.

And this morning we were able to get up, go to church and visit with our church family, praise God, let Noah learn about Jesus and play with his friends, and see the prior youth director and song leader who came for a visit this Sunday with their 3 kids from Colorado.  We were also honored to have some of Pastor's dear friends from Thailand come to visit this weekend.  They are Americans but moved to Thailand several years ago with their daughters to spread God's word.  They specifically came to the US this weekend to celebrate Independence Day.  Isn't that wonderful???

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe weekend!

Moles are such a huge nuisance in my garden. They dig tunnels all through and wreak havoc with my veggies, uprooting them and such.  The watering we do sometimes ends up down the mole hole instead of the plant roots.  I was getting very tired of fighting them for another year.  So I started doing a little research on how to get them out of my garden.  Poison was my first thought..  but I didn’t want that stuff in my garden.  Traps are effective but expensive. So I looked for more affordable remedies.  I came up with one that is easy to do.   You make a mixture of castor oil and Joy dish soap (2:1 ratio).  You add a few tablespoons of this mixture to a gallon of water and pour it down their holes. 

I have been doing this with some success.  The reason it can work is that moles have a heightened sense of smell and can’t stand the smell of castor oil.  They also don’t like the feel of it on them.  After a couple of applications some of the holes were not bothered any more but I still had some.  So the next time I put in more of the castor oil mix into my gallon of water and made the applications a little stronger.  I had been using 2 to 3T tablespoons per gallon..  so I doubled that.  Well I am happy to say that yesterday while in the garden I saw that all my mole holes had not been disturbed again..  so success maybe?  We will see.     

If my pesky mole just makes holes in other areas of the garden I will try another solution I read the other day and that is bubble gum.  You drop pieces of bubble gum (or Juicy Fruit I also read they like) into their holes.  The reviews I read said this was effective and will end the problem permanently!  I guess their digestive systems can’t handle gum..  they are eaters not chewers.. haa.. haa.  So if castor oil does not solve the problem..  I will try bubble gum.   

Just thought I would share this bit of mole info for anyone else battling them in their gardens this summer..  

Happy Birthday America!!!!  Let's all cheer for the Red, White and Blue!!!  I love the Fourth of July, and the cookouts, family gatherings, and fireworks.  But this year, we aren't sure if there is going to be much fireworks.  We might be able to still arrange the cookout, and just eat indoors.  But is is difficult to celebrate with fireworks when it is raining!!  UGH!  The weather reports aren't sure if the rain will stop before sunset and the big firework displays or not.  DARN IT! 

Matthew took off earlier this morning with our Noah, 3 years old, to pick out some fireworks.  We always wait until the 4th to buy ours because of the wonderful sales they hold the day of.  He alsos picked up some sausage and milk on the way home for our breakfast....sausage gravy and biscuits!!  YUMMY!  He even made breakfast for us.  Matthew never cooked (except for Hamburger Helper) until he met me.  LOL  Now he is the breakfast expert and won't let me in the kitchen when he is making pancakes or his specialty of biscuits and gravy. 

The rest of the day we are going to hang out, relax (finish putting away laundry, do a few dishes) and just enjoy having daddy home!   Tonight we are going to my brother's house for a cookout (possibly cook in...depending on the whether), and then back to town for the city wide fireworks display.  I am looking forward to seeing my family today.  We are all so busy, and it seems working schedules conflict that we don't get together more often.  Looking forward to seeing how big my neice Megan is getting with her first pregnancy.  She is due in October, and I am sure she isn't much bigger than her little frame was before, but maybe a tiny bit. 

Matthew's family is all scattered this weekend.  We made a comment last night that if everyone wasn't gone, we would have loved to get them all together at our house this weekend.  Oh well.  His parents church is having a 3 day meeting, his sister lives in Washington,DC area and unable to come home, and his other sister, her hubby and 5 year old daughter just started their 5 day trek back to Missouri from California and today.  They visited Sea World, Disney, etc. and had lots of fun.  I can't wait to hear about their trip!

I know, Summer just started, and I'm talking about Fall already! 

But, in order to have a Fall garden, some things should be done now- planning, ordering seed, planting seeds to transplant into the garden when it is time, adding compost or any other needed soil builders, etc.   

In my area, July 1 was the suggested date for planting tomato, pepper, and eggplant seed.  I'm a few days behind schedule, mainly because I'm trying to keep up with harvesting the tomatoes that are ripening like crazy right now!   

Most of the Fall planting for my area comes a little later, since July and  August are always HOT.   The bulk of  planting comes from September to November.  But, if I don't at least make a plan now and make sure I have seeds ready, I may miss my planting date when it arrives. 

Many of the same vegetables that grow in the Spring garden can be replanted for Fall, they like the cool weather and will do well if they have time to mature before a frost gets them.  You can probably get a list of what grows well in your area in the Fall either online, from a local nursery, or from your County Extension Agent. 

Here's a little chart to show when the first predicted Fall frost date is:

Zone 3 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 4 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 5 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 6 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 7 - Oct 15th - Nov 15th
Zone 8 - Oct 30th - Nov 30th
Zone 9 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 10 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 11 - Frost Free

If you aren't sure what zone you live in, here's a map that will show you.

With that information you can see how long it takes a particular crop to mature and then count backwards to get an estimated planting date.  Of course, it all depends on the weather, and it is good to give your plants at least a week or two of a head-start if your area often has early frosts.  I live in Zone 8, and sometimes we don't even have a frost until close to Thanksgiving.  Fall is a great time for growing here. 

Please share what you grow in your Fall garden and any tips you have.  Those of you who live in colder climates, please share your wisdom, as this Texas gardener has never had to garden where it really gets cold !

Hope you have a great holiday weekend, and maybe next week, spend some time planning (and perhaps planting) for the Fall garden!

Blessings,

Catherine

I would like to wish you all a happy 4th and for those that will have bbq and have family and friends over have a great day of fellowship.

And for those that will be home have a happy day...

Have a happy weekend for those on the road drive careful.. There are a lot of folks on the road this weekend..

Have a weekend everyone..

My plans I'm having my brother and family and my parents? we are having a bbq with lots of outside games with prizes.It will be a good day  with fellowship..

Blessings Sister Brenda

Good morning from another rainy day in Maine the start of July isn't so good.. Just about he whole month of June it rained. Farmers are having a hard time with crops . The fields are filled with water tractors can't get on its a mess. We have such a short growing season too begin with. The hay crop some don't even have first crop in yet do to rain.

Here at the farm My garden not doing so good have replanted cucumbers again. Also have pumpkins -squash-cukes started over in the greenhouse.. I have to grow them enough so the rain and beetles do destroy them.

Ray has put new fencing up for the goats Mike and Blarney are doing just fine. Mike just got banded a few days ago he is doing fine. And Blarney lost his band a few days ago and he is doing great.

Ive been keeping myself busy trying to mow and garden and yard work between rain .. I've also doing some craft work.

Today I have a busy day we are having my brother and family and maybe my parents over for a bbq tomorrow. I have baking and cleaning  to do. I have my first load of laundry in the washer and the dishwasher is humming away.

I would like to wish every one a Happy 4th and drive safely if your on the road and enjoy the week with family and friends all that fellowship is good..

Blessings Sister Brenda

When Ike was so sick with pneumonia I brought him and Mike in the basement we put down carpet and hay and clean it twice a day it didn't smell bad..But now it smells terrible.. The floor is concrete and there was some boards where we fenced them in..

I have bleached with a bush and I've also used pine sol and it still smells..Today I've opened up the windows.. I have put baking soda down on the floor and left it now for many days..

We have had rain for many days and its damp.. could that bring the smell out??? I'm lost..

Help I don't know what to do..

Thanks Blessings Sister Brenda