Important Discoveries!

Because this blog is a space where anything goes, I feel at liberty to share a few exciting discoveries I've made of late. While there is no photographic evidence to back up my claims, you've never had a reason to doubt me in the past, so why start now?

I am a huge hot tea drinker, as in like three cups in the morning if I have time. I'm also kind of fussy about what sort of mug I use, preferring bone china if possible, and barring that, at the very least, I'm happy enough if there is some cute bird design to brighten the morning. Which means, mostly the insides are light colored, and stain badly. As I recall, my mother made a little baking soda paste to remove tea stains, and that's a good method, don't get me wrong, just slightly laborious. So, I'd taken to putting bleach in the water. This proved not to be the best idea. NOW, however, I've learned that that (can I write that?) miracle kitchen worker, white vinegar, works like a CHARM. My spray bottle with vinegar that I use to clean the granite is under the sink, but those sprayers never seem to last very long, so I just dump a little in with water, give it a wipe with the sponge, and the cup looks good as new.

So there's that.

Even better, as this may apply to more of you....drumroll please.....if you have a glass topped stove, you might have purchased a special product to clean it, including a little scrubby type pad. Mine is called "Cerama Bryte." One thing you absolutely know about me is that I'd rather do most anything than clean the house. I like a neat house, but as to clean, I squeak by. We have a minuscule shower in our bathroom, super small, with not great lighting, so it is easy for me to ignore the soap scum covered walls. WELL, no longer! The other day, when I finally looked at it in the daylight, I knew something had to be done. Of course, as far as I know, soap scum has never caused any human harm, but it is pretty ugly if I'm honest with myself. I've tried a gazillion different sprays, each one claiming to be a miracle cleaner, however, those claims are generally all hype. Not this trick--no hype from yours truly. Grab your cleaner and scrubby, putting a small amount on the shower walls in a circular fashion. Don't really know about the circular, but it sounds good doesn't it? Anyway, let it dry a bit, wipe with  a microfiber cloth, and be prepared to be amazed.

Let's throw in a little cloud picture....

Nice, huh?

In spite of what I learned at the agricultural center about it being too late for tomatoes, we have about six medium sized ones on our vines. If you are lucky enough to be successful growing tomatoes, by all means do it!! I hadn't had a home grown one in ages, mostly because I've discovered I was planting them where they did not receive enough sunshine. Guess which ones pictured below came from our back yard?

If you guessed those in the foreground, you guessed right. I had to cut off a bit where the skin split, but let me tell you what--those little babies were wonderful. As in, well I hardly know how to describe it, except it took me back about 45 years to a time we visited my Mom's father at his farm in Missouri. He grew tomatoes that I've never forgotten.

Let's throw in a bird picture because I was lucky enough to take it.

That is Lake Gem Mary taken the other morning, the lake we see when we are in our front yard.

I've also discovered, and by the end of the summer you will be thoroughly sick of it, but our big storms bring big sunsets. Lake Jennie Jewel, the one we see from our side yard, is a summer magnet for me.

Speaking of light, am I ever glad I took this photo to remind me of how awesome this globe looked when lit.  Looked? It is dark now.

Sadly, the bulbs are not readily available, so the days of this awesomeness are over. Probably my fault, as I left in on constantly.

Another important discovery, well it's not totally new to me as I'm not shy, but if there are no seats available somewhere, ask a stranger if you can share a table. When we went to the local sports bar to watch the USA/Belgium match, there was not an open table to be found. So, I approached a man who said he was waiting on his wife, but he was more than willing to share the other two seats. He mentioned that he was a huge soccer fan, so don't expect him to engage in conversation. Okay. Well, here he is after his wife arrived.

He did do a little talking, explaining various plays to us, but what he did at half time was the most remarkable thing, something so crazy it sounds made up. Ready? He got up and began doing JUMPING JACKS beside his seat!! And why did he do that, you ask? To relieve the tension he'd built up during the first half! Call us amused. Both he and his wife were very nice btw.

I continue to discover that there are interesting photographs to be made wherever I go.

Then too, sometimes mistakes, or unplanned shots, turn out to be ones that make me happy.

Now here's a discovery that will come as no surprise-- I'm not much of a website builder. Our son David is making a website for his wrestling card collection, inspiring me to re-think mine. I made it on the Mac several years ago with software that is a little out of date, or so I thought. So, after contacting the folks at Green Geeks who host my site, the helper suggested I make one using WordPress. After finding a video on YouTube, the dullest thing ever, I spent far too much time trying to make it happen, or not. In my case, not. In spite of my best efforts, I'm not even close.

The famous videographer, AKA Flicky Rich, came to the market yesterday with his adorable wife Jenn, and darling two sons, the youngest of whom is petting Mr. Roger's dogs.

I've discovered that having a video go viral is not something you really want to happen! The girl in the blue shirt  behind them is the terrific singer I told you about. I can't say enough about her voice, and how when she and her husband are the performers at the market, how fantastic it is. Speaking of which, we made it through until the end yesterday. And, although slow for me for most of the day, I had a super sweet girl not only take home one of the canvases and frames, but she ordered three more!! Awesome, right?

Finally, I've discovered that if you want to paint your doors bright blue, you should.