Haus of Elle

Lauren Roberts, my son's girlfriend of seven years, is a talented artist and clothing designer. Haus Of Elle on the ESTY website allows her to feature her made-to-order fashions. I'm both impressed and proud of her talent and ingenuity.

The logo was designed by my son, and as his mom I think it's very cool; however, Lauren's website is cooler. I hope everyone will check it out.

Homemade Fruit Leather

When I was a kid, my grandma would make homemade fruit leather. Feeling sentimental, I decided to try to make some myself. Thanks to the wonderful Mother's Day present my husband bought me--the Nutribullet food extractor--the recipe process took lest than two minutes.

I threw 4 cups of fresh strawberries along with 1 cup of water into the blinder. I added a tablespoon of lemon juice, and I added sugar (less than 1/4 cup) to taste. Once pureed--about 8 seconds in the Nutribullet--I poured the mixture onto some wax paper I laid on a cookie sheet.

Cooking temperature is 140 degrees for 8 to 10 hours to dry. Our electric oven's lowest setting is 170, so I watched to see if the higher temp would make a difference. Due to thunderstorms, our electricity went out and the heated mixture cooled overnight in the oven. The next morning we resumed cooking because the mixture was a little bit sticky. After a few hours, the puree had set and we had a nice treat.

What's Your Fortune?

Dress Up

Having a daughter is a wonderful thing. Every year, since age eleven, I'm amazed that my daughter still likes to spend time with me. We stay up late, share stories and gossip, give each other make-up tips, and yell at each other for borrowing scarves, shoes, and over-sized tee-shirts with out asking.

This school year has been especially tough on Lucy. Poor kid can't get away with anything her brother did (or didn't do) in regards to school work only ten years earlier. Technology is a wonderful thing. Lucy grew up with a Gameboy, e-readers (both the Kindle and Nook), computers, and smart phones. Yet, the same technology that instantaneously brings her texts, emails, and information from the internet superhighway, sends her parents grade reports each time she fails to turn in a homework assignment or does poorly on a test.

Why would she choose not to do her school work? It's not like we demand straight A's, but we do expect each assignment to be completed. (sigh)

What can a parent do to motivate their child? Taking away all electronics didn't seem to work. Maybe it's a 10th grader problem because many of her friends have also lost their technology privileges. (sigh)

Maybe it's teen angst, feminine hormones, and chemical lapses in brain synapses causing bouts of depression that make her feel the whole world is against her. I can only speculate, but I think I hit the jackpot on the third one.

With my son, I remember saying to my husband, "I just want him to graduate." Several of his youth football team mates never made it past their junior year of high school, so my concern was valid.

Now, with Lucy, I find myself saying, "I just want her to live past eighteen." Several of her friends have attempted suicide. I have many theories on this, but that is not what this blog entry is for.

So, I'm back to my original question... what can a parent do to motivate their child?

Only love her, I guess. Not to be confused with catering or placating her. She still doesn't have her phone back, and she won't for the summer unless she passes her classes with at least a C. It seems crazy that we must to enforce these rules when the semester before she made honor roll.

How can I communicate what a great person, a great daughter, she is? She's witty, creative, beautiful, and caring. She doesn't smoke (pot or cigarettes), drink, or behave promiscuously. Unfortunately, those praise speeches get lost between the loud lectures on "Why didn't you do your chemistry homework?"

There's a loss of innocence from a year ago, and I don't think it's only a result of our move to Texas either. Six months ago was excited to cos play as her favorite characters: Sherlock and Castiel from Supernatural.

 

Next week, we have an appointment with her doctor. I fear medication just as much as I fear depression. She's a great kid, and it is my deepest prayer that she grow to be a great adult too. I'll take her innocence over graduation any day. 

A Christian Writer's Prayer

My Dear Father in Heaven,

I have the desire to kneel myself before you and, as you know, I’ve even tried. I don’t understand why the words refuse to come, so I will type them instead. 

I love you Lord and I know that Jesus Christ is your living and true son. I know that we are created after your own image and have been sent to Earth to live, learn, and grow. We are allowed to make choices based on our own free will.

I have been many places where I have felt your spirit. Whenever I see the glory of nature, whether it is at the beach as I hear the roar of the ocean and watch the waves as they crash upon the shore, or in the snow capped mountains, or the many wonderful places my husband has taken us, I KNOW YOU ARE THERE.

I have cried, being filled with the spirit of the Holy Ghost which you sent to confirm to me that you’re the GREAT I AM. I have felt your presence in a Jewish Synagogue when the Cantor sang at a cousin’s wedding; and at the LDS church whether I’m listening to a lesson or singing hymns of praise; and I’ve felt you touch my heart in other Christian churches to the point of overflowing. You constantly speak to me and I cannot deny that.

You have answered my prayers when I begged for another child to come into my life. You have answered my prayers when I asked you to guide my son in the decisions he makes in his life. And you answered the desperate prayer of a nineteen year old girl, when I begged for you to send me someone special. You sent me Lorne. He is a loving, kind, thoughtful, and devoted man. And every day, when he shows how much he loves me, I am astonished that you blessed me with someone so special (special not perfect—I’m not delusional.)

I believe in the scripture promises of Matthew 7: 7 and in Luke 11:9 - Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.

 And in  Mark 11: 23 and Matthew 21: 21 - For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be though removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Help me to live as in Proverbs 3: 5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine [my] heart; and lean not to thine [my] own understanding. In all thy [my] ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy [my] paths.

I know you have been the guiding force in helping me put words and ideas to paper. Luke 21: 15 - For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist.

I pray that, as in Psalms 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

My desire is to have my stories reach the people that they need to. My message is one of love, forgiveness, and family relationships. Please God, I claim this with all the conviction that your bible promises. If you can move mountains, heal the sick, part the sea, and help me with the littlest of problems like finding my keys, than I KNOW you can send my words to the readers who need them most.  

Fairfield Lake State Park

Last month, we went on a camping adventure to Fairfield Lake Campground.

 We camped in space 49 of Cook's Ferry. The space included electricity and water for $30  a night, which is a bit pricey, but it was a nice weekend get-a-way.

Dogs after a trek through one of the many hiking trails.  

     

 

Fishing Area

 

I think netting is cheating, but what do I know?



Fish Cleaning Station
   

Children's Playground 

Moss, mushrooms, trees, and vines. I could become rich selling hallucinogenics. 

 

Window Sticker Families

Have you ever seen stick-figure, gender family characters on the lower-left, rear windshields? Some vehicles feature children with sports equipment, or have a parental unit in a doctor or police uniform; and, sometimes, stick-figure pets are shown in the family line-up. In Texas, Lucy and I were behind a SUV whose family figures were zombies with body parts missing.

But when I was in California last March, I pulled behind this ya-hoo. I was speechless. The caption under the figures says, "Making My Family."  Does that make it any less crude?

Meet Popper

My hubby is a child and animal magnet. No mater how old or what species, they love him. So, when he told me this story I wasn't surprised that he met a new friend at work.

Every night when Lorne leaves the office, he'd see a squirrel going about his squirrel business, gathering nuts and such. They'd make eye contact, the squirrel would freeze to prevent from being noticed, and Lorne would say hello.

This went on for a while, and Lorne looked forward to seeing his little buddy when he'd head for home. On one particular evening, Popper came down his tree and stood on the dirt to say their evening goodbyes. Out of the blue, Popper began chattering up a storm, doing back flips, and bouncing straight up in the air. Lorne wondered what on earth could have made the little creature so upset. Then, he noticed the Fire-Ant hill Popper stood on when he came down to say hello.

 Photo taken before the ant incident of 2015.

Who'll Stop the Rain?

Long as I remember, the rain been comin' down

Clouds of mystery pourin' confusing on the ground.

Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun.

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain.

- Creedence Clearwater Revival 

Last weekend, Lorne spent an hour redirecting the flood waters. Here is an example of forty-feet trench he dug to protect our little garden.

This week, I thought I'd give him a hand and dig a trench to redirect some of the excess water flowing into our yard from an adjacent lot. This took me an hour: 

My trench is two-and-a-half inches deep by three feet in length.

Other than being a completely useless farmhand to my hubby, 

I will offer up the Texas soil as an excuse.

Since I have the strength of a gnat, I had to scrap the mud off of each shovel scoop. Before I began picking the clay off the shovel, I tried to push it off with my shoe. That created more problems than it solved. Within ten minutes, I no longer owned a pair of tennis shoes; they'd become Platform Soil shoes. My new mud lifts took me two inches off the ground.

Feeling like Noah

There has been so much rain, our leach field needs an overhaul. This is no exaggeration, every other day the clouds pour a half-inch of rain or more. We are lucky. Nearby cities suffered major flooding, so I have no right to complain; but, if we don't dry out soon our little piece of heaven might become a sister city of Atlantis.

Our Boxers were the first ones on the Ark.

Our First Tornado Scare

On Friday, April 24th we had our first tornado scare. It's a little (a lot) freaky to here the sirens blare their, "Take shelter NOW," warning. The news had continuous coverage and, thank heavens, our power remained on. Any room connected with exterior walls is unsafe, and since we don't have a shelter or safe room, we huddled in our hall way and prayed.

We had a little damage to our side roofing, but we were worried about some of the windows shattering by the hail that smacked into them. Lorne said he was going to make some wood-board window covers that we can slip into place for future damage control. He's looking into plans to upgrade the office into a safe room. It won't be cheep, since the walls need to be reinforced with concrete.

No tornado touch downs in our area, but the town twenty minutes away had one with punishing winds.

Here are some photos of the thunderstorm clouds, and an amazing double-rainbow that formed over our home like a scene from CBS's Under The Dome by Stephen King.

After the Storm Sunset