ANOTHER GIVE AWAY!!!!!

The days are winding down until the official winner of the "How Many Miles Has Lora Run & Walked in '07 Contest" will be revealed. The "Peach Plate" is great but if you would like to view other Follette Creations go to their web site:
http://www.follettepottery.com/
It is not too late you can still enter in any of the comment sections since last Friday.

Today's "Give Away" is the above "Warm & Fuzzy" that I found crying for his Momma in my yard this morning. Here he is under my car just after I finally got him cornered. WHY WHY WHY do these animals roam up to our house? I actually would not mind having an outside cat, but we are often gone to see kids & grands all over the country, so I will not be keeping the kitty.

While out weeding a flower bed early this AM, I kept hearing this "MEOW". I could not figure out where it was coming from and forgot about it after I went inside. Later in the day while sitting in my den, I once again hear the distressed, "MEOW MEOW MEOW". I went out the back and finally discovered the little wonder looking for his Momma.

When you start thinking of names for them, it is time to send them packing! At first I thought I would name him what I said when I bumped my head on the corner of the cabinet when trying to get him out from behind the frig. XXXX would not be a good thing to say around my grands though. I then thought maybe Leroy. Now not pronounced Laroy but LEEEEE ROOOOYYY. I am really not sure if the kitten is a boy or girl and I am NOT keeping this cat-so NO MORE naming!

HUUUMMMMM-Bobby seems to be holding that darn cat! WE ARE NOT KEEPING THIS CAT! FREE-CUTE KITTEN- to the first one to claim it!

SWEET YOUNG FAMILY

We had supper (dinner-North of the Mason Dixon Line) guests tonight. Our niece and hubby and their two precious daughters came to spend the evening with us. Dinner was quickly served, since the young ladies are used to eating at 6 Sharp.

While waiting for Mommie to prepare her plate, Miss Audrey discovered the "NEW" toy. She was delighted to find that she was the FIRST one to play with it. It seems that Audrey discovered things about the rolling box of fun that even the purchaser didn't even know about.

Miss Abby liked crawling on Aunt Lora's new rolling island. The perfect height for a girl to lift her leg up and climb on.

While Abby holds Daddy's hand, she has a big smile. For you see, Sister is helping prepare her dessert. The adults feasted on Grilled Tenderloin served with peach salsa, orzo with vegetables, yellow, zucinni, and acorn squash sauteed in olive oil with tri color peppers and onions and garlic bread. The Kiddos opted for dinosaur shaped chicken strips.

Miss Audrey helped prepare her dessert, a "Frog Float". Fun and easy to prepare. Lime Sherbet with eyes of mini-marshmallows with mini chocolate chips for the blacks, pour lemon-lime drink over and you have your "Frog Float". She LOVED helping! When we poured the soda over the sherbet, Audrey said we were giving the frog a bath. Out of the mouths of Babes!

Aubrey seemed to be on a roll so she volunteered to help Aunt Lora prepare the adult's dessert. Ruston peaches and blueberries served with cool whip and crumbled shortbread in layers. She was SO PROUD of herself!

Following supper, Miss Abby stops long enough for a little hug from her Mom before getting down and busy.

Audrey was a little alarmed when reading "The Monster At The End Of This Book". Thank goodness, it has a happy ending!

Abby stayed busy all night until ALL OF A SUDDEN-it is bedtime. Off they went for their home after a fun time with Uncle Bob & Aunt Lora.

We ran our five miles this AM in the hot. I did not think I was sore from yesterday's aerobics until after today's run. When I tried to lift my leg up to get in the vehicle-WELL let's just say THANK THE GOOD LORD FOR ALLEVE!

ONE OF OUR FAVORITES!

I read quite a few cooking blogs and love to read Cookbooks and my monthly "Cooking Light" issue. They would have you believe that cooking must be SO complicated. I enjoy making some of these recipes, BUT some of the simplest dishes are many of our favorites. Since all of the blogs give you "MINUTE INSTRUCTIONS", I will do the same for tonight's supper (Dinner if you are from anyplace but the South)- An Old Fashioned BLT Sandwich

We prefer green leaf lettuce-it has a nice flavor. It has been my experience that iceburg lettuce has no flavor-it is all texture. The Coup De Gras ingredient-FRESH FROM THE FIELD TOMATOES. No sickness scare here-You can see the field they were raised in. Personal preference is the More Acidy (is that a word?) the better. I love to have them hurt my mouth after ingesting a few.

Fry the bacon. We do not like our bacon cooked in the microwave. You just absolutely lose something in the nuking. I fry is slowly until it is brown and crisp and then drain on a paper towel over a brown paper bag.

Now NO COMMENTS or WHINING about "I don't like mayo!" Bobby NEVER eats mayo-EXCEPT on our BLT's. This just sets the flavor of the tomato off PERFECTLY! I do use Hellman's and tonight I used "Light". YOU HAVE TO AT LEAST GIVE IT A TRY! I PROMISE-it is not a BLT without mayo!

After toasting your bread, layer on the bacon and lettuce & tomato. A little kosher sea salt sprinkled on that tomato helps draw out the flavor.

The "FINAL TOUCH", but A VERY IMPORTANT ending-the fresh ground black pepper- THICK enough to see!

You just cannot beat this meal in the summer. We only eat these when the tomatoes are fresh in the fields, but look forward to the treat each and every summer, until the last tomato has been pulled from the vine. Served tonight with sweet potato chips, it was DELICIOUSO!

Here we have the box of canned goods that the runners have collected over the past 4 weeks. Basically it went like this, IF YOU PLAY, YOU PAY. Every week when we all meet for our long run, we brought canned goods to be donated to the local Christian Community Action. CCA helps those in need locally, including providing groceries.

Here is the local Volunteer Receptionist, Beth Anders, with the box. See Girls & Larry-I did get it delivered! The Runners are great people who are kind, compassionate and generous of spirit. I invite you to join the group!

Today's Weather Report-my rain gauge has over 5 inches in it from last night's storms. I am SO GLAD we got a rain. I did not have to drag hoses today AND THAT IS A VERY GOOD THING!

FINALLY (No comments about THANK GOODNESS), we walked almost 5 miles this morning and then went to Aerobics. I AM A WEAK SPINELESS PERSON when it comes to saying NO to exercise options. Sandra talked me into going to Aerobics at the local university. BIG MISTAKE! The class was full of young coeds and a few guys looking at the young coeds. JUST MY LUCK, today the instructor wanted to "ZONE IN ON ABS". This meant one hour of ab work. THANK GOODNESS I still have a large supply of Alleve!

Side-note-# 2 son e mailed to say that he has broken 2 ribs. Some story about "SOME GIRL" pushing him around! If he were exercising more, this would have never have happened.

DON'T FORGET TO GUESS HOW MANY MILES LORA WALKED & RAN IN 2007 under comments. I hear this genuine "FOLETTE PEACH PIE PLATE" calling you-"I AM YOURS IF YOU ONLY GUESS THE CLOSEST NUMBER WITHOUT GOING OVER!"

MORE RUSTON TREASURES!

This morning after our 5 mile "FUN RUN" in what Sandra claimed was "Cool Weather",(oh yes-it was ONLY 72) friends Sandra, Tracy & Sonja take off like their rears were on fire. As Babs, Larry & I, made a half mile trek to cool off, I began to wonder-"JUST WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL"? Why are they acting like gold or diamonds are buried in the field North of Vienna? The beginning of "Blueberry Picking Season" began last week. These girls plus a couple of more of the runners ingest ENORMOUS quantities of blueberries this time of the year. ALL I hear about is how many berries they picked, how long it took, how DELICIOUS they were and on and on. I am not much of a blueberry connoisseur, but I did have my trusty camera in the car-so I went to investigate just what ALL THE FUSS was about.

Just 5 short miles North of my house is "Mom & Pop's Blueberry Patch". You pick for $8 per gallon or they pick for $19 per gallon. Understandably since they consume HUGE QUANTITIES of the berry, the girls pick their own. The above picture is an example of the bush and how laden with the fruit they all were.

I heard them a long time before I saw them since the bushes were so tall. When I said, "Hey, turn around," this was the smiles I got. The cats that swallowed the canaries or the runners that found the blueberries look.

Sandra thought she was being SO SNEAKY! She is alone on this side of the row and picking all of the best ones with no competition. Note the bucket is strapped on over your shoulders so that you have free hands to pull away.

Caught Tracy "Eating The Profits" which she quickly defended. It seems while you are picking you can eat away-the only NO-NO is throwing the berries.

Sonja just would not hear that I did not like blueberries. Here she is telling me, "You have to try JUST ONE." Being the ever obliging, Lora, I did. I must admit if you like blueberry flavor these are probably the best. Plump & Juicy-ANOTHER Ruston Treasure!
I am on my way home and the girls have not missed a beat or berry. All three seem to be neck deep in the bushes-LITERALLY!

As I emerged from the row after row of blueberries, I found Mom & Pop had emerged from their trailer with coffee in hand. I suppose you have to stay close to the gate to protect this valuable crop. They were quite nice and inquired if Sandra was already in the patch. It seems they are VERY familiar with this little group of runners.

When I got home, I was greeted by this sight on our drive. Mr. Turtle is having a breakfast of squashed frog. I did not know that turtles were carnivores and before the morning was over frog and turtle had disappeared. As my S-I-L Laurie says, "If you watch Mother Nature long enough, it always turns ugly."

Reminder-if you have not voted on this week's contest with a WONDERFUL PRIZE of a genuine "Folette Pottery Peach Pie Plate", you need to go to the comment section and make your guess. The rules are on the post for Friday and you need to give me your initials, nickname, or some distinguishing signature.

EMERGENCY!

I went by friends Helen & Dales and they were showing me the email that Dale had just sent out after some excitement at their house. It seemed that their Grandson, Erin, had been out mowing their yard when he accidentally ran over the neighbor's cat. Unfortunately, the cat's tail was cut off by the mower blade. Erin came running in, really upset, and told Doctor & Granny the story. Helen immediately told him to go see if he could find the cat and his tail. In a few minutes, back came Erin with the cat in a box and the Poor Thing's tail in a sack. Helen told him to go get in the car and they would have an emergency run to Wal Mart.

When I asked, "Why in the world would you take the poor cat to Wal Mart?!" She reminded me that they were the "Largest Re-tailer" in the world.

Boom de boom!

DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION????

OVER

UNDER

There are some things I JUST DO NOT HAVE AN OPINION about. These include the way the toilet paper hangs on the hanger. This is just one of quite a few things that I do not have an opinion about. Bobby tells me, "YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN OPINION!" No, the fact remains that I do not have a opinion. There seem to be LOTS of people that have an opinion about how the toilet paper should be placed on its holder. As long as THERE IS toilet paper when I need it, and it WILL roll when I give it a yank-I DO NOT CARE! Are you one of the many that actually not only have an opinion, but also care? Vote in the Poll on the right side of this page and we well try and determine just WHO IS RIGHT!

Don't forget to make a guess in the "How many miles did Lora run in 07" contest. You don't have to vote on the original post. I will be checking the comments everyday and all the way back to the original contest post. The "Follette Peach Pie Plate" is calling Your Name!

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN RUSTON ON A SATURDAY

BLOGGING CONTEST- The above "GENUINE FOLLETE POTTERY-RUSTON PEACH PIE PLATE is the prize! ALL you have to do is guess the number of miles I ran & walked in 2007. See yesterday's post for the rules and give me your entry!

What do you do on a Saturday in a lazy Southern small town? My day began with a 5:30 AM run with the temperature 78 degrees and the humidity at 110%-REALLY! The die hard faithfuls were there to meet me and off we went in the early twilight. The first 4 miles + were not much fun and then we ran by a large garage sale. NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! We stopped and shopped and browsed for 10-15 minutes. YES INDEED THIS IS MY IDEA OF RUNNING! I found a treasure and had them stick it back for my later pick up and off we went again.

Next stop at mile 5+ was for much needed water! We then started back toward our starting point and found "The Farmer's Market". It still 6:30, but we stopped again and perused the goodies! The "GENERAL IN CHARGE" quickly told us there would be no sales until 7:30. That did not stop us from "Window or Tent Shopping".

After the agony of a 7+ mile run was over, I headed back to the garage sale and Farmer's Market. The above picture is just a couple of the tents that were pitched with their delectable goods.

If you could read the sign on the tent to the left, you would see Yak's Peach & Vegetables. A good old Southern name-YAK. What Mother would think Yak was a cute name that she would love to see her beloved baby called by all her life?

I not only bought a big sack of home grown, vine picked veggies, but also the above sack of herbs. The herbs were large enough that I can begin to use the leaves immediately and I will transplant them early tomorrow in a large pot. We will enjoy "Fresh Herbs" the rest of the summer and fall when cooking. YUMMY!

My "Find of the Day" was the above rolling wagon of fun at the garage sale. I plan to have it on hand on the next time my great nieces & nephew come by for their entertainment pleasure.

I came home to a little yard work, a visit with "The In-Laws", a lunch of left overs and pretty soon a well deserved hour nap. After all I had been up since 4:45 AM.

A quiet evening with my favorite boy friend and that should wind up another Saturday in Ruston!