What Happened to July???

OMG it's the last day of July already!

Enough said!

Little Pleasures, Little Surprises

 I like to 'treasure' hunt at flea markets, garage sales etc. I found this cute birdhouse wreath at our local Good Will store .  It certainly wasn't a  need, just a want because I liked it. It's what I call a 'little pleasure.'

I love the garden background and

the rock garden foreground.

Our bluebirds hatched out their second batch of babies. The first hatching was 4 eggs, this batch has 5. Yeah, Our bluebird population is booming!!

and in our 'peek-a-boo' birdhouse

we found this

have you figured out what it is yet?

it's a Cope's Gray Treefrog!

We took the house off its post and set it in the garden; he was gone the next morning.  I'm sure he's hanging around somewhere in their. Maybe hidden under the squash or pumpkin leaves ~ or in the beets or beans ~ maybe in the flowerbeds or tomatoes ~ corn or peas? Come out, come out where ever you are!

(All photos property of Cher Shots - please do not copy without permission)

Whoa! ~ What a Storm

KABOOM, over and over again

lightshow beyond belief

non stop thunder rolling

and torrential downpours

with little repreive in between

now this is what I call a storm!!

Rough storms tonight

sister called to see if we're alright

sweet of her

 I suggested she check agian

in the morning! 

LIGHTNING STRIKES!!

not a good time to be on the phone

more storms on the way

(pics from net)

Surprise Visitor

we had a surprise visitor drop by

it was just a short visit

but a pleasant one

we've seen her mom before

but this is the first

we've seen of the fawn

all photos personal property of Cher Shots

do not copy without permission

Today ~ I Cooked

Around here, there is no such thing as 'scheduled' meals during the summer months.  Gardening and yard work among other projects just doesn't permit it. Winters are much more predictable.  But today - I cooked! 
There was a wonderful breeze so I whipped open the windows and let it fly through the house as I cooked!
I made stuffed cabbage rolls. Oh yeah, so worth the time and effort put into them.  So as long as I had the ingredients on hand and the time to do it I cooked a lot of them.  A roaster full plus a casserole full.  Enough for tonights meal, leftovers and several packages to freeze.  I cooked!

and then I made a wonderful fruit bowl for dessert!

Watermelon, bananas, black plums, kiwi fruit,

strawberries, bing and rainer cherries.

Supper was soooooo good because

 today I cooked!

I'm Back

Main Entry: be·wil·der

Pronunciation: \bi-ˈwil-dər, bē-\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): be·wil·dered; be·wil·der·ing \-d(ə-)riŋ\

Date: 1684

1 : to cause to lose one's bearings

2 : to perplex or confuse especially by a complexity, variety, or multitude of objects or considerations

synonyms see puzzle

— be·wil·dered·ly adverb

— be·wil·dered·ness noun

— be·wil·der·ing·ly \-d(ə-)riŋ-lē\ adverb

                                                               

Yes, by now you're onto me ~ I'm BEWILDERED

I totally lost my way

I've been playing around off and on

for the past few weeks,

 trying to 'tweak' my blog ...

well in midst of my attempt,

I've lost some followers

 ~ BUMMER~

so hopefully they will find their way

 back to the 'old' me!

I guess they didn't like change

and neither do I 

although

I thought I might. 

World Renowned Organist came to Town

We were honored today for the second time since moving to Upper Michigan, to attend the performance of a world renowned organist David Wickerham. His performance is so amazing that it's hard to put into words.  A dear friend of ours introduced us to this wonder man a few years ago. Our friend and his father-in-law played a huge part in getting the organ into it's present home and in getting it into operating condition. So now our little hometown holds the largest pipe organ North of Chicago.

 Dave played it with excellence and ease.  After the first half of the program he said he would like to try something different... he had a notepad in the lobby during his break and he took requests.  Later he set the paper in front of him and he compiled a medley of the miscellaneous songs requested.  AMAZING doesn't even come close ... he played several tunes nonstop - one would have thought he had rehearsed them in order.  He is so astounding that it's hard to believe what we saw even after seeing it. 
The organ is a Moeller Theater Pipe Organ with over 1600 pipes, 3 rows of keys and who knows how many tabs. It is also magically connected to a player piano setting next to it so you can see just how fast and  how many keys he is playing... let alone the footwork involved.  WOW!! 
If you ever have the opportunity to see this man perform, DON'T MISS IT! 

Helpful Hints from Heloise - Not!

I know you are wondering what the heck I'm doing now, showing you a can of WD-40 ... but wait, there's a reason behind this blue and yellow shocker ~ IT CLEANS! 
Yesterday my dear man took the shower doors outside and sprayed them off with WD-40. It took care of the awful lime,calcium & crud buildup on the glass with very little scrubbing, and they shined up beautifully. He used Lime Out on the heavier deposits on the metal trim and corners of the glass. But ~ WOW ~ did they turn out nice! Just thought I'd share this helpful hint from "hell it's me!"  

Another Trash to Treasure

Some of you may know my sister Mel, if not it's your loss. She's so talented, very loving and lots of fun to be around. Anyways; we were talking about the great grill she won at a fundraiser drawing, and how she had promised her old grill to her son. So I told her how we had bought a new grill this spring and that my dear hubby built me a garden cart out of the old one. It works great.  

OOPS!

It's been a while since I looked for a change in backgrounds for this blog ... and I guess I should have left well enough alone.  Now I have my blog so screwed up and no matter how much I try to backpaddle, this canoe is heading downstream fast!!
I think I need to sleep on this one ... yeah, maybe after a good nights sleep, it will all come back to me and I can rectify my errors.  Until then, please bear with me as I try to stay afloat.
Change is a good thing right? Please say right ~ because I feel like there may be another change coming soon.
Goodnight!!

Vegetable & Flower Gardens

 All photos property of Cher Shots

do not copy without permission

After last years dry spell, we prepared for this year by setting out

five 50 gallon water barrels. They have been filled and refilled, refreshing the water on a regular basis.  Needless to say, we have not used them at all yet this season. Our rains are coming in as if scheduled and the vegetable and flower gardens are responding beautifully.

Zinnias, swiss chard and lettuce

Gladiolas and beets

Gladiolas, beans and onions

Peas and spinach

Lilies, lilies, lilies ...

and more lilies

and yet another color

mixed in with multiplier onions

can one ever really
have enough lilies?

See, I do grow other flowers too

loving the Red, White and Blue

and the old weathered look

ah, the resting place for 

after weeding of course!  

Dreaming

I've been dreaming of Alaska a lot lately. We left there in September of 2004 and there isn't a day goes by that I don't think of it at some point throughout the hours.  But the other day I vividly remembered my dream.  I was standing on a cliff looking out across the mountains. I could smell the fresh, crisp air. There was a breeze blowing my hair into my eyes, I reached up to brush it aside and I woke up. I still see those mountains. I'm content where I am in my life, however I miss the mountains.

Scrapped by CherShots

please do not copy without permission

Look at what I Won!

I - yes me, CHERSHOTS was a random pick WINNER on Stephanie Lynn's blog - Under the Table and Dreaming.  I admire her talent and enjoy her highlighted sites.  Check it out; I swear she'll set your mind swimming with creative ideas.  I was lucky enough to win a Lawry's gift pack which included Two new marinades: Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato and Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ,  a 10" x 15" Pyrex Bake'n Store pan, Lawry's Salt and a set of barbeque skewers. 

Those of you who know me, you know how much I love to cook.  So now the task at hand is to come up with some wonderful creation for the grill.  There is no chicken, pork, fish, or beef safe now. Oh and vegetables, let's not forget the vegetables! Excuse me while I put my thinking cap. Thanks again Stephanie.