June, a poem by John Updike

The sun is rich
and gladly pays



In golden hours
Silver days



And long green weeks
That never end



School's out
The time is ours to spend



There's Little League
Hopscotch, the creek,



And after supper
Hide and seek



The live-long light
Is like a dream



And freckles come
Like flies to cream

*Poem from the book "A Child's Calendar" written by John Updike*

I absolutely love all of the poems from this book. I can relate to every one of them! Each month, starting in January, I have posted his monthly poems from the book, but never did get around to posting April and May {will have to do those next year} Anyhow, I'm back on track and I hope you enjoyed "June".

Polaroid moment

Reclaiming my childhood summer

It's June 3rd.

It's June 3rd!

Wait...it's June! It's summer!!

Now...of course...according to the calendar...summer doesn't officially start until June 21, at 1:16 PM....but that's beside the point. By the way, what that means is:



The first day of summer: the summer solstice—is the longest day of the year, the Sun reaches its most northern point in the sky at local noon. After this date, the days start getting shorter. {*copied this from Farmers Almanac website}

So, this "it's summer" thought popped into my head this morning as I was getting fresh feed and water for my chickens. I told myself to "think summer" from now on and to try to put myself in that childlike mindset of what summer is, what summer means and really enjoy it!



The first thing that came to my mind was how I would have already been out of school by now {if I was a kid} and I would be waking up with a smile on my face knowing that the day was mine!

The day was mine to play, swim, lay in the grass, climb trees, ride bikes and skateboards, swing and climb all over the swingset like a monkey, roam the woods behind the house...basically to spend the ENTIRE day outside.

I found myself longing for those days. To just have one day like that as an adult...it would be so good!



Even if I tried to have a day like that...which... actually...I could come pretty close...as an adult...there are things you just can't escape.

I have to feed my kids and hubby, the bills and the mounding laundry will inevitably sneak their way back into my mind...people will stop by, and I will have to entertain, or at least be cordial.



The dishes will pile up and I will look at the Kool Aid spills on the kitchen floor until they dry and our bare feet are sticking to the floor..ugh, I hate that feeling. I am no neat freak by any means...I want to be a neat freak...I am a neat freak wanna-be....but it is just not in me...but anyhow, the mounting mess would still get to me because I will think about how much I have to do later. And for some reason, that overwhelms me.

So...I'm wondering...is it possible to have a carefree summer day?



I mean...a for real...really, really...for real...childlike, carefree, no responsibilities...carefree day. I think if I plan ahead, it just might be possible. How funny is that. There has to be planning to do something that's carefree!
Ha Ha Ha!!! LOL!



I have to plan everything out ahead of time so I can try to have one "childlike" summer day. I would have to make dinner the day before...something easy that everyone can just grab when they get hungry.



My kids are 9 and 12 so that should be no problem. We can use all disposable plates and silverware. I can get all the dishes and laundry done...or done enough...the day before. I don't have to answer the phone...I can screen the calls...wait...screening calls is still acting responsibly. Darn!

But, one thing I can't change..I don't think I can convince my kids to not fight or get into any disagreements on what's fair and not fair



I don't think I can convince them to not come running to me to solve the problem of how someone stayed too long on base during tag, or how someone never goes to get the ball when it goes too far, or how someone counts too fast during hide and go seek or he hit me for no reason, or he's hogging the tree house swing! Dear Lord...please help me on this one! So if I can get them to solve their own problems for one day...and believe me, I try to get them to do this anyway...I just might be able to pull this off.



Even if this completely carefree day never comes for me this summer...
I vow..{repeat after me}
I vow...
to take time...
this summer...
to do anything and nothing...
to consciously make the effort...
to have a child's mindset...
to lay in the grass...
look up at the clouds...
read a book in the shade...
drink some Kool Aid...
go swimming at least once a month...
ride a bike...
catch lightning bugs...
eat popsicles...
and take a walk in the woods.

It's summer!
Slow down and enjoy this beautiful earth
and the time you have been blessed to be able to appreciate it!

Blue Ribbon Pie Contest

We held our 3rd annual Memorial Day picnic at our house this past weekend. I decided to include a Blue Ribbon Pie contest at the picnic as well. I have been wanting to do this for years and finally got the notion to just go for it. We had a turn out of 5 pies which included mine. Here's a list of the pies in the contest.

Oreo Creme



Caramel Apple



Double Bottom Blueberry Lemon and Pecan



Strawberry Rhubarb



Banana Creme



I picked 5 random judges....lucky them!!



We numbered the pies 1 through 5, and each judge was given a small sampling of each delicious pie...one at a time...to taste, savour, and judge. When the tasting was done, each judge cast a secret ballot. The ballots were read as they came out of the bag.....and so a winner was declared!

How can I humbly say it...but, I actually won the Blue Ribbon with my caramel apple pie.



It was funny because, it was my house, my contest, I handmade the ribbon, and then...I won first place. As I put on the ribbon I jokingly said, "I feel like I fixed this thing." But really, it was fair. It was up to the judges, and they could have voted any way they wanted to.

After the contest was over, the pies were open to everyone to taste. I think pretty much everyone who tasted them had a sampling of each...I know I did!

Each pie was so good...they all deserved a ribbon! I mean, it's pie...how can you go wrong!

I am so glad we had the contest! It all played out very well. There seemed to be a lot of interest and a lot of laughs. I definitely plan to do this again next year. I hope that this year's contest has generated a lot of interest for next year, and that we will see new contestants next time!

Click here for all of the recipes for each of these wonderfully delicious pies!
http://whataboutpie.blogspot.com/p/2011-pie-contest-recipes.html

How to make patriotic garland

It's so fun to decorate for the holidays...
but I don't love to spend the money!
What I do love is creating decorations using materials I already have on hand! Since I'm a scrapbooker from way back when, I have plenty of red and blue paper scrapbook paper on hand.

Here's a tutorial on how to make a patriotic garland perfect for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. I used standard 12 inch by 12 inch scrapbook paper...various patterns of reds and blue. For the white paper, I had to be a little more creative and used plain white printer paper. I created simple designs with red and blue crayons.

Materials needed: decorative paper, scissors, clear tape, stapler and string

After cutting 12 x 12 paper in half, I cut about 1 inch off the top of each half leaving 2 pieces of paper approx. the size of 11 x 6. You can make 2 stars from this.







Position patterned side of paper facing toward your right hand when cutting angle 1 inch down from top, cutting up to the top left corner. Depending which way you have the folds facing when you cut will determine the shape of the star. You can do it either way. But be consistent with all the stars. After you cut one end, turn the other end upright and do the same thing.







This gummy blue stuff that you use to hang posters on a wall works perfect for surfaces like brick. Make sure you remove any dust on the surface or the gummy blue stuff won't stick.




I am so delighted how this turned out!! It is perfect for my Memorial Day picnic and Blue Ribbon pie competition I am hosting at my house this Saturday. It just adds that finishing touch to my mantel.

Out takes:



As I was hanging up the garland on the mantel, one of our hens flew up and perched on the window sill outside. It scared me half to death because there's not much room for her to perch and she was flapping her wings and scratching and trying to clutch the window sill. It was pretty comical. She finally got a good hold and stayed there for a while. I swear...my chickens are the NOSIEST things ever! They make me laugh!