LeeRoy's Debut

This is the longest LeeRoy's hair has ever been. I think it's positively gorgeous, but also messy because he sheds a lot and has to be brushed frequently. The shedding is the worst. His hair is all over everything in the house. I can't stand it. Also, he is miserable in this warm weather, even though we have air conditioning. He will lay on his side with his legs spread out, and just pant. He's not his usual energetic self, either. It got this way because my old clippers were worn out, and I couldn't replace them. Then we got Twinkie, and she plays so rough that I didn't want his skin to be easily accessible. Now he's got his bluff in on her pretty good, and I am not worried about that, so it's time to get rid of the hippy dog look.

He was actually shaking and rolling in this next shot. My camera caught it so perfectly it looks like he's being still!

Being groomed is SUCH hard work! My new clippers kept getting hot, and I would have to stop and let them cool down every ten minutes or so. Once, I found him like this. I thought he looked too sweet.
When I stopped for the last time, cleaned everything up, and went and turned on the faucet to get a bath, he ran and jumped in the tub! This is a dog who usually HATES to be bathed and protests with grunts and whines the entire time. Not today! He's ready to be fresh and clean!!! I just laughed and laughed at him.

My Aquarium

After keeping goldfish for about six years, I have decided to convert my tank back to a tropical aquarium. I missed keeping kissing gouramis the most. Therefore, my tank is centered around what fish are compatible with them. I traded in my two large fancy goldfish and received store credit in the amount of $18 for them. I was thrilled! I was expecting just a few bucks. I purchased a pair of kissing gouramis, three skunk botias, and I already had a kuhli loach and a plecostimous.

As you can see, the kissing gouramis have settled in and are smooching away!

This is a rock I found in a local creek several years ago. I think it's soooo cool. When I saw it, I shouted, "It's the Venus of Willendorf!" My husband looked at me like I had grown another head. I pulled it up out of the water and showed it to him. Then I explained what the Venus of Willendorf looked like, and he laughed and said he didn't see how I got that out of that rock, but, whatever. I like it and it makes me smile.

Strawberry Jam

My momma always made the best strawberry jam. It was one of her specialties. I haven't had REAL strawberry jam in over eleven years; since I left home. Now I have a real house with a real kitchen, and I'm gonna have me some jam!

I started my quest for jam by going to my former local U-pick farm. They wanted $3.60 a pound, and you pick them yourself! I nearly fainted!!! They are $1.50 a quart in the grocery store right now, and there's about a pound and a half in a quart! I refused to pay that much. If necessary, I'd wait until my own plants are big enough to produce. Last Tuesday I asked around my new town for contact info on a U-pick farm for strawberries. The next day, one of the ladies I visited with gave me a call. She knew of an Amish family who might have some. She gave me their telephone number (Amish...telephone...?) and I called. The Amish wife and mother had a traditional Amish sounding name. It was so neat. She spoke with a very thick Dutch accent. They do more of a truck-patch style farm, and don't normally allow others to come and pick. They do the work themselves. However, the berries were so sparse, it wasn't worth her time to pick them anymore for the season. I asked if she would consider allowing me to come and pick myself. I didn't mind if it was harder picking. She told me there were so few that she didn't know if I would be able to find enough to make the 12 quarts I wanted. I told her I was okay with that. I'd take what I could get. She agreed that I could come as long as I understood I may not be able to find as many as I wanted. We arranged for me to arrive at their farm at 8:30 Thursday morning. I arrived ten minutes late, because even with directions, it was hard to find. It's one of those places where you can't get there from here. She was so gracious and not at all put out with my tardiness. She had five children, and I surmise one on the way, even though she looked to be around 18 herself. (I know she wasn't, but she looked SO young!) They were all so sweet and friendly. From what I've read about the Amish I expected the children to be somewhat fearful of outsiders, and the adults to be standoffish. That wasn't the case at all. She and I talked a mile a minute the whole time I was there. She had gone out the night before and picked 12 quarts of berries for me, because she was worried I wouldn't be able to find enough, and she only charged me $2.70 a quart for them, "Because they're so scrawny." I was thrilled! I plan to return in the fall for sweet potatoes, and feel I might have made a friend.

It was so interesting to get to see a real Amish home and see how they REALLY live. They didn't have any electric outlets or light switches. They had gas lamps every where, but they had a refrigerator. I expected everything to be plain, no frills or anything to lend prettiness. She had curtains at the windows, not just blinds, and she also had flowers on her canisters and tea kettle. There was a picture on the wall, too. I can't say enough about what a positive experience it was.

I canned 12 pints of freezer jam, seven pints of canned jam that can just sit on a shelf, and then froze a gallon freezer bag FULL of berries to be used later.

I'm SO tickled!

I just learned that I am eligible to be a patron of the county library. You just have no idea how huge this is to me! I've not been able to have a library card in over nine years. Imagine- a teacher who doesn't have a library card. That's just WRONG!!! My plan is that I will come to the library once a week (it's a 40 minute drive) and check in. We are limited to one hour per day on the computer, though, so I don't know how much of that hour will need to be spent answering e-mails and doing research, but at least there's hope for my blog. :)