Mama's turn...

Even if we didn't have time, we made time to redecorate last week. Since we moved here in '05 to now, Mama's room has been on the back burner, so to speak, and has not made it to the top of the "things to do" list. Poor room (or should I say poor Daddy and Mama), it hasn't had a new design since Clay was born 16 years ago! Things have definitely changed. Wednesday, right after lunch, Mama's new bedding from Williamsburg arrived in the mail. That inspired us to paint so Mama rushed off to Lowe's and by 4:30 p.m. Mama, Susan Liana & I were painting up a storm. Benjamin joined the painting party when he got home from work, but there wasn't room for the rest of the guys to join us. By 4:00 p.m. the next day we had pulled the room apart, taped, painted, and put it back together. We finished really decorating that night. So we were done with it all in a little over 24 hours (we slept in between though). You can still smell the paint, but every time you walk in the room you get a sense of satisfaction. It is a beautiful, peaceful haven for Mama & Daddy.

Survival...a week of fun.

Much to my great surprise I actually enjoyed Survival South East. Up until the week before we left I had been dreading this trip. You all know me, I am very much a "girly girl" and so surviving out in the wild wasn't exactly my idea of fun...so I thought. Everyone had been telling me I would have fun, but to be honest I didn't really believe them. They all said that since I was such a "social butterfly" I would make lots of friends...well, I didn't really believe that either. In the end I did make lots of friends. I guess it helps when you go on an event like this to have other friends who are going with you; I had 6; Clay, Anna & Kevin Heritage, Lillie Hobson, Catherine Mullins, & Abby Shackelford.

We drove up with the Heritages, a fun 5 hour drive. In Barnesville we stopped for lunch at a local little pizza place. OH MY GOODNESS! it was the best pizza I think we had ever had! If we go through Barnesville again we know where to stop. We planned on going to the camp a few hours before check-in time just to look around, but our pizza excursion made us just on time, not early. It was alright because once we got there we realized there really wasn't a whole lot to explore. We met up with the Hobsons there, checked in, then the moms went to everyone's cabin to drop off our luggage and we headed to the gym. We played a few games of "Four Square" and met a couple people. Then it was time for the moms to go. When they left I kind of got that lonely feeling. It was different; I had never been off like that without Mom. It was a good thing Clay was there.

That week was definitely Thermally Oppressive (we weren't allowed to say "hot"). They divided us up into our teams and then the first activity was to make our flag and come up with a chant. The Yellow team's (my team) chant was definitely not worth repeating, but Clay's chant (the Orange team) was awesome. I will just go ahead and tell you that my team won at the end of the week with 2200 points!! I was excited.

I will tell you some of the activities: seeing how many people your team could get over the wall, seeing how many people you could get over a beam, getting your whole team on a 2'x2' box, and lots more. My favorite thing I believe was the beam. We also would sit in on 30 minute sessions and learn about fire building, shelter building, primitive fishing, etc.. The last day they sent us off into the woods for a few hours and told us what we had to do. It was a simulated survival experience. We had to build a waterproof shelter, build a trap, make a water still, do some plant identification, & build a fire. Later they came along and graded our work. Free time was also something we had a lot of. Generally during free time you would go tho the gym and hang-out or play sports. Dodge ball was my favorite. Some people went to their cabins and took naps which most days sounded really good to me, but I was too afraid I wouldn't wake up. Talking at night in the cabins was always a lot of fun.

Over all I had a very good time. It might have been Thermally Oppressive, but the cabins had A.C.! I believe I would like to go back next year, which is a good sign that I had fun.

Me going over the wall.
A teammate getting the rope.
The spider web.
Trying to get the whole team on the box.
Our team and our Teepee.

First off the vine!

This is our first Cantaloupe off the vine this year! I went out to check on its progress yesterday, only to find that it had already fallen off the plant, yellow and ready to eat. I think it is going to be enjoyed for supper tonight.

From Seed To...

This.

Here are just a few pictures of our abundantly green little square foot gardens.

We are growing:

• Cantaloupe
• Squash
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Peas
• Beans
• Okra
• Basil
• Thyme
• Apple Mint
• Sage

We are growing the Cantaloupe up a trellis and it is doing well. Already their are 3 Cantaloupe the size of a soft ball (or bigger) and one almost ready to pick, and of course lots of tiny ones. We are excited.

A side view of our garden.

Just about half of this bed is filled with Cayenne peppers.

It had just rained and so I couldn't resist taking a picture of the watering can.

This is one of our four Basil plants.

Garlic Chives and Beans.

Our Butter Beans (you can see the Cantaloupe in the background) .

This is what our little garden produced Saturday!

The Cantaloupe plants.

Daddy just recently hung up this pretty little Hummingbird feeder in the corner of our garden. We have seen one green Hummingbird coming pretty often, not just to the feeder, but to the Cantaloupe as well.

Our Zucchini plant is getting so big that this leaf had to pop through the pickets to get sun.

Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On!

We know, we know, we haven't posted in a month, but here is one for ya. In that month we have been to four end-of-the-year SCAD showings; Molly Elizabeth's friend came over and they decorated cakes for Sunday school; Molly Elizabeth had a Small Group party; Mama, Susan Liana, Clay, and Molly Elizabeth went to the Biltmore with Grandmom and Granddad; we hosted a Colonial dance with about 60 folks in attendance; Clay filmed Dangerous Game, his newest movie (filmed at our house...there were 17 young people here most of the week!); the whole family went to Huntsville for the fabulous Sisco Reunion; and Daddy and Mama went into Savannah this weekend for their 30th wedding anniversary! In addition, on Tuesdays we host a sewing/cooking class here, and Mama and Clay have been gardening...but that's another story! We've had a lot of fun, but I don't think I can write about it all.

So instead of telling you about any of those activities I will write about something totally different; a book Mama bought in Savannah this weekend called Suck your Stomach In & Put Some Color On!. It is absolutely hilarious! Daddy said Mama was laughing out loud the whole weekend. If it helps you to know a little about the book the subtitle is: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters That the Rest of Y'all Should Know Too. I just started reading it on the way home from church a couple of nights ago, and so I'm just 75 pages into it, but it is definitely worth reading. Mama finished it this morning, and I'm sure that Susan Liana will start reading it, too, as soon as I'm finished.

P.S. from Miranda: This book is about those of us who consider ourselves true southern belles and the things our mamas taught us, and that we're teaching our daughters. This girl is a hoot and a half and all of you southern belles will LOVE it! I didn't realize how much of our culture was ingrained in me by my southern mama... You simply must read it!

WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE

My husband is a wonderful man; I just wanted to state that up front for those of you who may not know it because I don't mention it often enough, and he's not one to go around and toot his own horn. For the past few weeks, he's been quietly going about making one of my dreams come true.

I've always dreamed of ivy-covered cottages surrounded by rose-covered picket fences, and somehow the picket fence became my picture of a beautiful, noble, graceful, loving, productive, peaceful, happy home. I've wanted a picket fence of my own for many years, yet only mentioned it occasionally (really! I think...)

So, if you remember from the yard sale posting, I found a wonderful, old, picket fence that a lovely lady sold to me from her treasure pile out back of her shop.

My thinking was that we'd just bolt it together and I'd have enough picket fence to actually surround my little garden plots behind my house, and I'd enjoy a shabby chic picket fence that didn't require any work on my husband's part. At least not much. You see, he prefers to pick his own projects rather than leave that to me.

It seems he also prefers not to have a shabby chic fence.

He has more vision than I do, and he saw in my well-loved, old fence the makings of a beautiful, Williamsburg picket fence to surround my pretty little Williamsburg garden that I have been diligently working on for the last two weeks. All things Williamsburg is another love of mine that he's wisely discerned.

So, without any further ado, he stopped by the big hardware store and purchased a few things to make the dramatic transformation of my fence from "ugly duckling" to "swan." I must say it's the sweetest of fairy tales and it happened in my own back yard.

He rallied the troops last Wednesday night after dinner and they all diligently went to work. Some sanded pickets (which he'd removed from their original, bowed, constraining boards earlier in the week)

and some began painting.

In a flash we had a garden of white pickets popping their little heads up all over the yard in various stages of being prepared for service. I had no idea that things could happen so fast!

By Saturday morning, all parts were prepared and my precious, hard-working men gathered on the patio with nails, shovels, levels, screws, and various other things that I don't know about to assemble this beautiful fence under the direction of their fearless leader.

After just a short while of measuring, nailing, and consorting with one another about posts and picket heights and leveling and various other manly things, before my delighted eyes stood the prettiest picket fence you ever saw!

Miraculously, my men,in one miraculous morning, had produced my white picket fence, straight out of a storybook, or a garden in Williamsburg, or, even better, out of my dreams.

With that picket fence my husband gave me a daily picture of our own beautiful, noble, graceful, loving, productive, peaceful, happy home. So you see, fairy tales are sometimes real, and dreams really do come true. You just have to have a man like mine to make it happen.

Miranda

P.S. Though they didn't make any of the pictures, Benjamin and Molly Elizabeth worked diligently along with the rest.

Part 3 of Our Trip: Tea Leaves and Thyme

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning, May 8, the ladies of the family got dolled up for a lovely ladies' luncheon and tea at Tea Leaves and Thyme in Woodstock, GA, where we have had tea in years past. This delicious meal is what was on our menu for Mother's Day Tea.

Chicken Salad

Scones: Almond, Strawberry, and Plain

Fruit: Cantaloupe,Watermelon, and Honeydew

Sandwiches: Pimento Cheese, Ham and Cheese, Cucumber

Dessert: Mint Brownies, Blueberry Cake, Lemon Squares, and Almond Bars

They had hats, gloves,

dresses, and jewelry available so that you could dress up and make a real party of it. It was such fun trying on hats and gloves and different necklaces and each of us chose a hat while Audrey Kate chose to wear it all. This little outing was Audrey Kate's first time to go to tea with all the girls, so we enjoyed watching her make happy memories of tea with her sweet mama, her lovely grandmama, her dear Aunt Randi Jane (I couldn't resist!) and her adored cousins, Susan Liana and Molly Elizabeth. It was also a Mother's Day gift for Grandmama's Mother's Day from the girls. It was really special spending that time together sampling different teas, lovely food, and enjoying being ladies while we talked and laughed and made lots of pictures.What lovely memories!

Aunt Celesta, Grandmama, Molly Elizabeth, Susan Liana, Audrey Kate, and Miranda before the tea was served.

Susan Liana and Molly Elizabeth having fun in the dress-up corner.

Aunt Celesta and Mama...

One of Susan Liana's 61 pictures taken that day (I am serious, we made that many!).

One of Molly Elizabeth's 76 pictures taken that day (!).

Molly Elizabeth and

Susan Liana apparently didn't get the same memo about what pose they would do...

Molly Elizabeth

`````````````