Earlier in October we went to May-Lan Tree Plantation again (this is the same place we visited last fall and also where we got our last Christmas Tree) to pick up some pumpkins for carving a painting.  I didn't take any pics while there, mostly because I forgot my camera.  It was just as well, since David took the kids on the plantation's hay ride, for which you had to pay, and I didn't want to spend the extra money on my going.  So, Mama Lu and I ended up sitting around for what felt like an  hour waiting for David and the kiddos to come back; which means I wouldn't have had much to photograph anyhow.

But, here are the pictures I did take when we came home and  David pulled out the paints for the kids.  He's such a good Daddy!

 Martian Cookie batter it is.  It has a very strange combination of ingredients, so I, of course, had to give it a try.  Let me tell you: these things are absolutely delicious, and I don't even like butterscotch!

the oddest thing I have ever found in my kitchen sink.
I pulled a stack of dishes out of the sink to load into the dishwasher, and this little guy came out with them.  I have no idea how he got into the house, let alone my kitchen sink. 

when you leave your parents unattended with your camera.

We finally painted the awful wood paneling in the boys' room and turned the room into a playroom for the kids.  I have gotten fed up with both of their bedrooms being a disaster, so all the kids are now sleeping in one room and playing in the other.  I gate off their bedroom during the day to keep them from destroying it.  So far it is working out pretty well!

under my house and it is stinking up my kitchen.

David just put drywall putty all over the bottom of the cabinet under my stove to help keep the stink out.


Not much more to be said, I'm afraid; other than we both are going to be jumping for joy when we sell this place! The space between the bottom of the house and the ground is too narrow to maneuver around easily, so retrieving the decomposing whatever-it-is might be an impossibility. Yay.....

Onto a more productive note: I dyed a hank of yarn for my dad today.


It's going to be knit into a pair of socks, eventually...

For those of you who don't know (and it won't be surprising if it's a lot of you, since I don't really write about it here), I knit as a hobby and dye yarn to sell in my etsy shop. You can read more about my knitting and dyeing exploits on the blog I share with my sis.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year, by the way!

Welcome to what most meals look like at our house. Notice how Emmaline just stirs her food, waiting for us to be distracted by something, so she can make it look like she's eating. Usually this does not take long, as Ian, her accomplice is always trying to sneak out of his chair.

Saw these little critters scampering on our front porch a few days ago. It was so neat to see the tiny, baby version of praying mantises.

David has had this piece of wood outside drying for a while, hoping he could use it up above our fireplace. He got the whole rig up a few weeks ago, and I finally went out to look for some decorations. It's not finished yet, but it's a good start!

When my Farmor passed away, and my Uncles thought they would not be able to find condos in time to keep most of the things they had collected here in the US, David "inherited" a windsurfing kit from my Uncle Les. He used the surfboard and sail all of one time, I think, before losing one of the fins. (The exact fin that my Uncle Les warned "Do not lose that fin, without it you cannot do anything.") Since moving to South Carolina the board and sail have sat unused in one of our sheds, unfortunately, due to the lack of water nearby and a lack of time on David's part. However, when the "great blizzard" hit this past week, David was struck with inspiration. He found a new use for his surfboard. Here it is!


So Uncle Les, now you can see it is being put to good use!

Here are some pictures of the limited Christmas decorations I have put up this year. Given the fact that we have a newborn baby in the house, I'm not up for much work this year. I even had David buy a piddly little Christmas tree instead of a nice tall one. I do have to say that it was nice only taking an hour to put on the lights and ornaments. I made an executive decision and only put on the ornaments we had received from our Johnson-family ornament exchange. Life was much easier!
Here are Viggo's ornaments:
From Auntie Erin and Uncle Luke

From Mormor and Morfar


From Mommy and Daddy


Here are Ian's ornaments:
From Auntie Erin and Uncle Luke

From Mommy and Daddy

From Mormor and Morfar


Here are Emmaline's ornaments:
From Auntie Erin and Uncle Luke

From Mormor and Morfar

From Mommy and Daddy


Here are my ornaments:
From Erin and Luke

From my Mom and Dad


Here are David's ornaments:
From my Mom and Dad

From Erin and Luke

From Me


And here's our Christmas tree!!:

The joys of living in the country, on the side of a horse pasture...

Waking up at five in the morning hearing loud thumping somewhere around your house.
Worrying whether someone is trying to break into your house.
You hear your newborn baby cry, is there someone trying to kidnap your baby?
Freaking out when you look outside your window and see what looks like two sets of legs in black pants with their torsos and heads perfectly blocked by a tree outside your house.
The relief of realizing it's just a HORSE!! IN YOUR FRONT YARD!!
The oddity that there are at least three horses in your front yard...and oh! one of them just pooped! Yeah!

Gotta love it!

David just caught the snake that I saw in our house about three weeks ago!!!

We were getting ready for church Sunday morning when I walked down our hallway holding Ian. I saw this black thing in my peripheral vision and looked down. Sadly, it took me a good thirty seconds to realize there was a snake literally a few inches from my foot. I raced back to our bathroom and yelled at David (who was in the shower) that there was a snake in the house. In my effort to help David find his glasses while keeping Emmaline and Ian in our room for safety, I lost sight of the snake and David could not find it. Argghhh!

Well, tonight, I was on my way from our room to Emmaline's room to put away a sock of hers when I looked down and saw that dratted snake! I gasped, ran into our room and jumped on our bed while yelling, "Snake! Snake!". I'm so grateful my husband is my prince charming! I don't know what I would do without my snake handler husband. He captured that snake in seconds, reassured me that it was harmless, then set it free outside. Here's to hoping he doesn't get back in. When I shuddered at the sight of our little black friend, David said, "It's only a black snake, he's harmless." To which I responded, "Hon, don't you know that women and snakes don't get along?" He laughed.

I planted some herbs in with my roses. Herbs are supposedly useful in warding off certain pesky bugs and attracting the good kind. We'll see how it works. However, I learned a disturbing fact last week: moles like parsley. I guess only time will tell if they discover mine. I hope they won't destroy the whole bed if they do!

SO I made my first ever key lime pie, and I must say it was quite a success! It wasn't quite as good as Two Jays and a Kay's key lime pie, but hey, I don't live in Palm Harbor anymore. I have some ideas for tweaking it next time around. I followed this very easy recipe. Very good!

Now I'm off to cook my Russian Wedding Teacakes!

We went to Sears today and got this dishwasher!!! We have to wait for the dishwasher to be delivered, since it wasn't in stock. I am hoping David will work on getting the space where it is going ready while we're waiting, but I'm not holding my breath.

Once again, I would just like to thank God for how much He has blessed my husband, both with a wonderful job and some extra money on the side. I am thankful as well that my darling hubby is so generous with his income! I told him this dishwasher is his best gift to me yet! LOL! Growing up can be pretty sad sometimes, when a household appliance makes your day. However, when one does without one, getting one seems like a luxury!

I JUST SAW LIGHTNING BUGS IN OUR YARD!!!!!

Call me childish, but I was so excited! Last year I was so disappointed that we never had any lightning bugs visit our yard, but my sister did. (OK, maybe I was a little jealous, too...she has a patio to sit on, we don't, she has lightning bugs, we don't...she has an impeccably clean house, I don't...and so on and so on...) LOL! Anyhow, just thought I would share my silly childish excitement about finally seeing lightning bugs.

A few weekends ago David was possessed by a tree spirit. It told him it wanted to be moved. I tried my best to excorsize the thing, but to no avail. (We all know how hard it is to deter David once he has set his mind on something.) He was convinced we needed to move this huge Japanese Maple from a back patio to our front yard. He and I dug the hole for it, and Michael helped David move the monster. Thank goodness Michael was here, because I know I would have been no help!



Now, we just have to wait till next year to find out if the tree actually survived the transplant.

There is a horse pasture that butts up against the back of our property. Every once in a while I go back to there fence and drool while looking at the horses and surveying their land. It's just so beautiful. I love to watch the horses swish their tails and hear them whinny and to look out upon the rolling hills and expansive oaks decorating the pasture. Within the past two weeks the grass has been alight with these yellow flowers. The last time I walked back to the pasture it was just covered with flowers, so I took some photos to capture the memory. I hope you guys enjoy them!