First Date Anniversary: #35

Daryl and I have two anniversaries that we celebrate -- our wedding anniversary and the anniversary of our first date.   Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of our first date.  

This picture was probably taken sometime in the spring of 1977 after we had been dating for about 6 months.  We are the ones in the center of the picture with Daryl's brother and sisters on either side.  

We were all children!

Daryl and I first met at church on a Sunday night.  My family was an Air Force family and that Sunday morning had been the first in our new church in our new state of Alabama.  Daryl had been speaking in another congregation that morning so we hadn't met.  I remember another teenager telling me, "Oh, you need to meet Daryl!"  And someone else had told him that a new family was moving to town, "And they have THREE DAUGHTERS!"  

So, we met that Sunday in August of 1976.  It was the year Daryl graduated from high school -- and the month I began high school.  He was 17.  I was 14.  We both had birthdays coming up soon, but we were both so young.

The movie version of Gone With The Wind had been re-released that year and was showing in theaters.  It was one of Daryl's favorite books, he wanted to see the movie, so he called and asked me to go see it with him.  On a date.

My parents said "No."  I was only 14 and he was starting college.  There was nothing against Daryl personally, but I was just too young.  Besides, as the oldest child in my family, we hadn't dealt with dating issues, yet.  This was new territory for us.

Daryl and I talked on the telephone, saw each other at church and at youth group events, and sometimes sat together at church.  He had a birthday and turned 18, I had mine and turned 15.  The thrill of those days is still such a good memory to me.  

A church in Wetumpka was having an area-wide singing on Saturday night, October 16.  I guess Daryl thought that inviting me to a church event might go over better with my parents than the movie idea.  He called and asked if I could go with him.  I said I would let him know.  I asked Mom and Dad.  They said, "No, you can't go on a date.  But, he can give you a ride."

And what a fun, wild ride it has been!

Yesterday

This is what I did over the weekend:

Cooked some new recipes.

Worked in the yard.

Helped a daddy teach some little ones how to work a little and how to help a little.

Taught a little boy that if you roll down the window while you are riding in the car and put your arm outside, you can make your hand fly in the wind.

Learned how to do something new.

And then I sat outside Saturday evening to see the sun set.

To do this last thing, I got everything I needed.  A house phone in case the phone rings so I don't have to get up to go answer it.  A cell phone in case someone calls me on the cell.  My latest sewing project.  My camera.  The Nook so I can listen to the Vitamin String Quartet station on Pandora.

 Then I noticed how pretty the reflection of the tree was in the Nook.  So I took another picture of the Nook.

It was truly a Heavenly Day

Green and Yeller

The past few days have been a little dreary.  And I really, really love that kind of weather.  Hot tea, cuddling with a throw on the couch, naps.  I really do love it.

But, the past few days I have been dying to take a picture of the soybeans.  The fields have been two distinct colors - green and yellow.  I wanted to snap a picture of them before they changed to some greenish, brownish hue that isn't very interesting.

This morning for about 30 minutes the sun came out and I got out there in a hurry and captured a picture.

Isn't it beautiful?

Reading is Fun!

Last night was a busy night for The Parents, so the grandkids and Minnie and PawPaw were able to play together for a while.

Lily and Bella took a break from playing, "I'm the Mama, You're the Baby", and sat down to listen to Daniel read a book.

Then, Bennett took a break from his walking practice to get in the picture.

And over here was Jonathan.  Curled up with a good Nook.

Isn't reading fun?!

The Walnuts are Falling

I didn't name this blog Walnut Grove Farm for nothing!  Our house was built in a grove of black walnut trees.  They are old, gnarly, mossy, stately, and.....messy!  Each fall the walnuts become ripe and fall off of the trees.  This picture is of SOME of the walnuts under ONE of our trees.  They are just a little smaller and about as hard as a baseball, but then they get smushy, and the green husk turns to black yuck. 

A few years ago I did some research on the topic, "What Do You Do With Black Walnuts?"  Here are the results of that in-depth study:

1.  It seems like the obvious answer to "What Do You Do With Black Walnuts?" would be "You Eat Them."  Maybe, yes.  In my case, no.  But, if you have a relative who sits and watches Jerry Springer reruns all day, you could give them a bowl of nuts, ask them to please pick the meat out of the shell, and at the end of the day you would have enough walnuts to sprinkle on top of your salad.

2.  They are great for twisting your ankle when you accidentally step on one hidden in the grass.

3.  You can throw them at your brother.  If you have a brother.  I don't.  You can also throw them at trees to test your ability to hit a target.  Daryl uses them this way.

4.  The black dye in the husk is wonderful for staining your gravel road into black polka dots.  Of course, this only happens if you are lazy enough not to pick them up twice a day.

5.  They are good for waking you up when they fall out of the tree onto your metal roof.

6.  They will keep your squirrel population fat and happy.

And it is #6 that is my favorite use for all of these walnuts.  I'll even pick them up and dump them in a pile so the squirrels don't have to gather them.  It seems to work well for both of us because I have never had a squirrel eat out of our bird feeders.

I'm not complaining about the walnut trees, though.  I love living here.  Walnuts and all.

I Heart New York

View of Manhattan at sunset from the Brooklyn Promenade

I love New York

the energy

the lights

the restaurants tucked into tiny spaces

the subway, the taxis, the limos

the life lived without a car

the people

the people-watching

the skyscrapers

the rivers

the bridges

the food carts

that in one block you can find food from Thailand, Kenya, India, Ireland, Ukraine, and, yes, America

that in one block you find people from those same places

the parks

the museums

the tourists

the locals

the pizza

I love New York

Wrambling Wednesday

1.  In my continuing series of Roast Chicken Month, I did roast the third chicken.  It didn't turn out very well.  The recipe was wonderful because it was one of Emeril's recipes and he has never let me down!  It may have something to do with having sweet grandchildren with me all day that day.  Come to think of it, I don't think I became a good cook until I didn't have little children around.  Wonder why?  It must take a lot of concentration for me to get the recipe right!

2.  Speaking of Months of Foods, October is National Pizza Month.

3.  Speaking of October, my birthday is on Monday.  My Big 5-0!

4.  Speaking of pizza and birthdays, I think I will go celebrate in....

New York City!!!

Thanks to my great husband, we are leaving tomorrow to spend a week in Manhattan.  Ben, Abbie, David, Sarah, Jackie, and Corey will join us there on Friday for one big, huge, fun birthday party.  We have never done anything like this, and may not ever again, but we are all REALLY looking forward it!  I'll definitely be checking out the New York pizza!

Jackie had a business trip to Hartford, Connecticut this week.  When she goes there she takes the train from Philadelphia and rides right past New York.  As she came through she took this picture on her phone and emailed it to me.

I'll let you know how my pizza pilgrimage goes!

Mr. Delaware

This spring we became adoptive parents to three wandering chicks.

Daryl's uncle found them roaming the streets of his neighborhood and thought of us.  We babied them, petted them, and waited until just the right time to move them in with their new family.

That can sometimes be a problem because old chickens just don't like young chickens very much.  These three must have been very easy going because all went well.

Two of the little ones are some type of red chicken, probably Rhode Island Reds.  I had to do a little searching to find the breed of the white one and it turns out that it is a Delaware.  I have never had that breed before, but if we had a beauty contest in the hen pen today, that one would win.

Here he is today.

And I say 'he' because I am trying to decide if Dela is a rooster or a hen.  I'm thinking rooster right now.  He is bigger than most chickens, his comb on top of his head is getting pretty big, and he goes to the top of whatever he is around.  King of the Mountain, you know.  I don't see any long tail feathers, yet, and he hasn't crowed.  But then he hasn't laid an egg, yet, either!

I'll let you know what I decide.

Very Random Facts Friday

The bees are still working on the first day of fall
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The fact that you are losing weight in your face does not mean that your jeans will fit any better.

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I can get more done in 30 minutes with a timer set than I can in an hour of working without a timer.

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Last week when I was changing the sheets on my bed I couldn't find the top sheet.  I just knew I had brought it upstairs, but I retraced all of my steps all over the house and still couldn't find it.  Turns out, I had already put it on the bed.

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When a 3-year-old plays a game it isn't about winning and losing.  It is just about playing.

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Skittish cats make me nervous.  Twinkle is skittish.

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The weeds blooming right now have some of the prettiest flowers I have seen all year. 

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My first thought when I think of a gift for someone is, "What can I make for them?"  That must be truly annoying to the recipients.

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One of the things I try to do is to celebrate the ordinary -- like a cup of tea on a cloudy day -- and not put as much importance on 'special occasions.'  There are very few special days, but many special moments in every day.

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It is very difficult for extroverts to understand introverts.

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And the best fact of the day -- today is the first day of Fall!  

Thankful Thursday

It was just one of those day.

One of those days when you think life doesn't get any better than this.

First you have helpers to make the chocolate chip cookies,

watchers to watch the cookies cook,

and eaters to gobble them up.

Yep, I'm thankful!