Fog and Fun

 I've had a few foggy mornings on the way to work.

I tried to find a different fog poem, but just kept coming back to this:

  FOG

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg

We made it to the Tartan Festival in Minden Louisiana.  I missed men in kilts last year. But saw plenty this year. :) 

And the wind was blowing! I was near tears most of the day - but not from kilted men...the wind dried my eyes and therefore my contacts. And the pine pollen is in full swing. I felt as if I had grit in my eyes most of the day. At one point, I went back to the Tahoe to get out of the wind. Cleaned the contact lenses once again. I could still hear the music. 

 A falcon handler. I also saw a big ol' owl but failed to get its photo. 

 

We went on a hay ride around the property this year - we haven't done that before...

...got to see the Hieland cattle up close and personal.

Dr. Cameron (veterinarian, property owner, Tartan Festival promoter) got a surprise this year. He has a silver bull and thought he'd turned it in the pasture well after the heifers/cows were bred. Well, with the last two years' drought, it was just too hot. When this little "lamb" hit the ground Dr. Cameron was very surprised.

The 'regular' color calves look like little bears.

Parade of the Clans.

 

 

 Irish dancers.  

Future Irish dancers. ;-) They were so cute!!

Jonathan was on a mission - to find Blue Bell Creole Cream Cheese ice cream - only available in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. We found it!  

I thought ahead and put spoons in the Tahoe console. We ate one pint and packed the other in the ice chest - had it tonight for dessert. Not knowing where it would thaw and make a mess, that's all we bought. Unfortunately, a 200 mile round trip is too much to make a run for ice cream next weekend. 

The GRAND Things in Life!

 Cain is such a good sport! LOL

Teamwork: Lucky digs the hole. Colt checks it out.

Isabel going to "school" looks like Nanny McFee. LOVE IT!

Clowning around in the car with her new tu-tu.

Colt with the tell-tell beet juice "smile."

Isabel loves chalk art and tu-tus!

She told her daddy she was a "rock star." He pulled to the side of the road and snapped her picture.

One of my grand nieces, Addy. She is my youngest nephew's baby girl.

Niece Stacey and her family. You've "met" Brianna and Ty before.

Isabel would settle for no less than three hair bows this morning.

He-ya!!

Cain about to turn the big ONE.

Granny and Pawpaw holding the birthday boy.

Sweet dreams in Pawpaw's lap.

Sweet dreams are made of these: Both boys like choo-choo shows. Early Saturday morning, Granny found a Mickey Mouse Club Cho-Cho show on You Tube. Even at 47 minutes long, it held the attention of both boys.

Easter morning...

I LOVE this pic of Erin and Cain.

Cain wants to know what brother Colt found in his basket.

Colt got a coin purse for his "pennies." That's what he calls all coins - pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters are all lumped into one category - pennies.

On to Grander Things

Isabel's second birthday cake! She enjoyed eating the frogs...except for the legs. She gave them to me, I handed them to Colt and told him if he ate them that he would turn into a frog. He ate them, turned to his mommy and said, "Me frog." LOL

Daddy feeding Isabel some cake...see the lily pad in her hand? (LOL That lily pad has legs! Must be a frog on a lily pad.)

Isabel in Granny's arms.

The first gift she opened. She saw the netting sticking out of the top of the gift bag and wanted it. Great Aunt Carol helped her pull it out. She grinned from ear to ear while Carol tied it on her. Throughout the afternoon, every so often she would stop, kick out a leg, and watch the netting flutter. Brought a smile to my face every time I saw it.

Colt and Isabel playing kitchen.

Cain got in on the action too!

The tutu above was just "icing on the cake" so to speak. My former sister-in-law told me she still had MY baby doll bed that I had given to my niece, Lacee...did I want it back. WELL YEAH! Sam repainted it for me. I made the soft-sculpture doll, "mattress," and doll quilt. As the gift opening wound down, I pulled the goodies from a trash bag, placed the mattress in the bed, laid the doll down, and covered completely with the doll quilt. The quilt is made from scraps of Isabel's baby quilt. Isabel pulled the quilt off the doll...looked at the doll...put the quilt over her head and walked off. :D

As an aside: Christmas week, Cody and Brook sold their old home and purchased this new home. John gave or loaned them the bed Sam made for the A-frame John did live in. When he and Erin purchased their new home, the bedroom had 9-foot ceilings. The bed just did not work in there so they purchased another. Brook is very excited about the bed.

 I made the quilt for Brook and Cody when they married. It all looks pretty good together, doesn't it?!

New Sweet Potato Recipe

I'm trying to get away from ooey gooey sweet potato casseroles no matter how good they are.

 

This is what I did:

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick

Layer in a buttered baking dish

Drizzle with maple syrup. 

Spread several really thin slivers of real butter around

Sprinkle with a dash of salt and some ground cinnamon

Toss on a handful of dried cranberries (Craisin) and

about 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

Cover with foil

Bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes.    

Jonathan's baked mac 'n' cheese. He boiled a box of macaroni. Made a bechamel sauce using whatever I had left in a pint of cream and some milk then added about 3/4 pound of grated cheese. (He used an 8 ounce bag of preshredded 3-cheese Mexican mix and some shredded cheddar.) He stirred in the macaroni. Poured it in a buttered casserole. Topped with a mixture of bread crumbs and 1/4 pound grated cheddar, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes I think. Not that he was territorial about his recipe, but I was busy prepping something else.

My niece, Stacey, and her Ty.

...and her daughter, Brianna.

   

Colt playing with Uncle Jonathan's toys.

Rosy cheeked Cain.

The Rays...John, Sam, and Elton.

Can't remember what my own plant is, but I saw this stuff frm across the room and thought it had a fungus amongus. It's flowers! First time it's ever bloomed that I noticed...