I'M DREAMING OF......

Ocean waves

Sandy days

Sunsets on the water

And you.

MORE PICS

So, it must be the other pics. I'll work on that, just don't know when.......

In the meantime, this are some more shots I took. Max, doing his thing.
Max, giving it the BIG foot. You can barely see the ball, being the fuzzy thing in the air.

Good times with Meme and Pop!

The center of attention.

I tend to get this look a lot.....I just wonder what he is thinking. Any suggestions???

MORE WEEKEND PICS, not!

I have been trying to upload some more pics but have not been able too. I'm not sure if its because I took them from the disk Larry made or if it's blogger. I'll try again later because there are way too many cute ones not to share!!!

WEEKEND AT THE BALL FIELD = lot of good times with family!

These are some of the pics we took at the Bluegrass State Games this past weekend. Max was goalie for his soccer team. He did a great job, the team did a great job, and we had lots of entertainment. The weekend went by so fast, as so many of them do when you are having fun. Max, the soccer star!
Pop and Jack, doing their thing.

Larry, letting Jack have his way. I'm not sure what gave him this idea, but he was determined to try and fill his G-daddy with all the twigs Naomi would give him!

Naomi, Larry and Jack, having a blast. She doesn't like too many people riding her scooter, but was loving Jack taking a spin!

This is all Jack! I had the chair set out right and he decided that he wanted it folded up. So, before he could slow down, I had to get this shot. He was loving it!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE JIM

Happy Birthday! You've been a blessing to our family.

Thanks for all the stories, good times and memories! See you soon!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DINA

Happy Birthday Dina! I hope you have a wonderful, fantastic, lovely day.

I had not planned to write a post today, but when I went to Dina's FB page to wish her a Happy Birthday I was overcome with thought.

I love the way her friends think of her. The way they send their love and best wishes.........It's such a good feeling! To be able to share in that special person, is a gift. A familial gift.

I hope,my birthday wish for you..............That we will one day get to have the reunion that I had planned for us. Our family's will get together and rejoice in life, rather than death, and really get to know one another. I KNOW you come from a good family, and by the way your friends speak of you, you rock! So, have a happy happy birthday!

FARM UPDATE

New pictures have been added to the farm site if your interested. We were out this weekend, and it is really looking good! The quarter round is down (sorry no pics) and the outside is getting level.

Rumor has it, moving day could be any day now....

NEW KNIFE

I got it done!

It doesn't look too much like I envisioned when I first got the two pieces.

But, I figure, when you are working with natural materials, you "get what you get and you don't throw a fit!"

The finished product ended up being inlays of tiger eye and jasper stones. The talons are from a bird found on Kenny's (my brother) farm and the feathers are from our bird, Hawk. I used rabbit fur around the neck and secured it with the leather, the tiger eye, and the bone disk.

Joe mentioned the two disk were a little over the top. I laughed and said it's all a little over the top, don't you think? He agreed.

What's art if you can't express yourself???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!

Happy Birthday Sam! Your a great kid who I love to spending time with! I'm really looking forword to seeing you soon!!!

COOL STUFF aka yard beauties

This must be the year of the flower here at HFF. It seems I cant get enough of the beauty and want to share it with everyone. So, like it or not, here is the latest installment. I think of the song Shining Star every time I look at this picture.
Love the colorful mix in this one.

You know what I love about this one! We know how to grow em here in KY.

How's this for bright???

I love all the changing colors with this flower.

FUNNY STORY, FUNNY STORY, get your funny story right here!

I'm going to share a story with you from dinner the other evening.

I think the story is extreamly funny. Of course, some of you that
don't know me personally may think different of me. And those of you
that do know me personally might think Naomi was right on. Consider
yourself warned.

Being the silly family that we are, we were talking and laughing while
eating dinner together. I don't know about y'all, but we seem to have
a problem with fruit flies (nats) off and on. This happened to be an
on night. Just as dinner was coming to an end, Joe pumps his fist into
the air (to try and catch the nat) and I respond with "power to the
people". We all start laughing.....the kids didn't know what Joe or I
was doing. Once we quit laughing, Naomi says, "momma's the thinker of
the family". Once we realized what she said, that made us laugh even
harder.

So, I've been thinking.....should I put more self control on myself
when I see the potential funny? I never try to say, or do harm to
others. I just love to look at the positive side and to get a laugh
only makes it better (for me).

I told one of my friends this story. Her response, "out of the mouths
of babes". I don't know if that was good or bad!

What do you all think?

JUST A RIDIN'

She did it!!! Being so close the other day, with a little bit of
practice, she's gotten good.

BOOT, SCOOT, BOOGIE

This was the weekly project. I didn't realize it was going to be a project at the time, but I have been itching to change my room around for years! I have a small bedroom and lots of big furniture, so I felt limited in what I could do. I have been accumulating hats over the years and with Joe's hat collection I felt like they were piling up too. So on a whim and with 16 year old help I started scooting furniture around. I started first with the cedar chest under the window but it just didn't look right. So, we scooted a little more and came up with this. I was able to hang the hats with this arrangement, so it stuck. Joe was really surprised but being a fan of organized mess, he was all in favor. Plus, he didn't have to do a thing. Elijah, on the other hand loves to show how strong he is so this was perfect!

For those that didn't see the before shots, I'll see if I can dig some up sometime. Until then, the big difference is the cedar chest was at the foot of the bed. The dresser was were the chest was and I had a chair where the dresser is. The chair is gone but not missed. If I need to sit down I can sit on the chest or eventually I might move a chair at the end of the bed. I like having a little more room, so I don't think I will, but you never know!

Trivia-This is the same bedspred as in the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin.

SUMMER LEARNING

There is talk again of bike riding in the family. Naomi is holding
herself back for one reason or another. She rode last year, but not
confidently. So, the push is on again! She got out last night and rode
1/2 the lenght of our yard. We all were happy, but it was getting late.

So to work on her balance, she got the scooter out. As you can tell,
she is happy. She hasn't been on it much either, but to get her
confidence up we'll take it all!

GOING TO THE BEACH

Have I ever mentioned that my lovely daughter has begged me to take her to the beach for several years now? If I haven't, I'll let you in on a little secret......she has. Naomi is nothing, if not driven. When she gets something on her mind, she will not stop until she is satisfied. That is the way the beach has become. She doesn't do it everyday or even every week, but, she will do it often enough that we can not forget. She wants, needs, to go to the beach.

So, the summers getting shorter and the time has come. I knew that we would go to the beach this year, just because of her, and it was time. It has been way too long since we took time just to relax. Oh, you know we relax, we relax here at home, and at the farm. But anyone who has ever gone to the beach, knows that's what relaxing is. To make it even more special, we ask my parents to come relax with us! That may take some of the relaxin' away since I'm sure there will be some intense card games, but all in fun (for most of us) if I win. In the end, when the Ocean breeze is blowing by, everything will be good!

I'm really excited about the place we are going to stay, it is owned by my Uncle Jim and Aunt Cindy. Right on the ocean, in Ocean City, Maryland. They informed us, it is Marlin Week there and should be extra exciting, will all the big boats and fishing. I'm sure we will take lots of pictures and have lots of stories to tell, I'll keep you updated. Until then, check out where we'll be relaxing, here.

WORKING ON IT, the next step

I had a little time today to work on the knife. I was able to sand the broken edge the other day and so today I was able to cut the space for the blade. I am using a rechargeable Drimmel tool so I had to wait for it to recharge. If I would have had a little more time I would have got the spots drilled for the inlay. It really looks good! Not a very good picture, but I wanted to show what it looked like. The antler is very hard and took a lot more time than I thought it would to sand it down and cut the line. The smell was the worst.....It smelled like the time I was at the dentist for a crown. Not a pleasant memory and almost a deal breaker.

Side view. It has a good grip to it, and feels right in the hand.

Plain, no frills. It looks good, has a lot of shine but if I'm going to make something a little different. Well, I want it to look a little different!

THE FIRST STAGES

My next project. Making a knife out of deer antler and arrowhead. This is what I am starting out with. I plan to sand, apply beads and leather. It should be really nice when I am done!

FARM CRITTERS

I guess we are just as much of a surprise to these guys as they are to us. It seems in the past week, we have seen the food chain. Elijah saw the snake, Joe spotted the mouse, Levi saw the toad and I got the privilege of startling the tree frog.

As quiet as a mouse. I'm sure he was happy when we left him alone and quit taking pictures!

The toad. I don't know how Levi saw this! With all the rain we have been having, the ground seemed awfully dry and cracked. We transplanted him to the shade with some water to help ensure survival.

I Love This Picture! This is the tree frog after he was removed from the cooler. He looks a tad different than than he has in earlier pictures!!!

This is what I uncovered. Now, looking at the pictures, I think this is the female. She seems to be more of a grey shade than the other frog. I'm not sure....what do y'all think?

CHILDREN

My children, are special to me.

The fill me up, and bring me joy.

One shuns the camera, while the other two rejoice.

The latest, of many.

My life, yesterday.

MY LIFE

My life, is like everyone elses, except different. We all have a plan, though plans change and life takes over.

I have been thinking a lot lately about people and their stories(lives). I guess that is one of the things I enjoy about my work. I get to hear other people's stories. A glimpse into what they are all about....

Here is a snip pit of my life. I put it on FB, the place to connect with others, and no one noticed as far as I could tell.

The frog, such a small creature, but according to the scientist, a very essential part of our lives. We saw this frog last night at Joe's parents farm. It was just hanging out on a chair. When we got closer, it jumped to the hay bale trying to escape possible harm. The frog, like the snake we saw recently, live there. We have seen and heard evidence of both, but now we have actual proof . Flowers have always been a part of most people's lives. You love them, hate them, they sometimes cause you to sneeze and or sometimes bring you joy. We celebrate life and death with them. When I married my Landscape Architect husband, I knew that flowers and plants would always be in my life. I have learned a lot about them and still have much more to know....if I get around to it. I love their beauty, I love to photograph their beauty. Like individuals, they are similar, yet each one is so different.

The common Day lily. With this beauty, it's hard to believe they call it common.

Another Day lily. I'm not sure what the actual name is of any of them, that's on the list to learn, sometime.

Another lily, the Stargazer.....Beautiful, but full of pollen!

Sedum with a bee topper. Yet another creature that the scientist say is essential for our survival.

THE NEW BLOG

I have been wanting to set up something with all of the pictures of Joe's parents new house on it for quite some time. With Joe having to be at work so early, I took the extra time to get it done. Let me know what you think if you check it out. The link is to the right side of the page. As always, you can click on any picture to make it larger and see more detail.

Those of you who know me, know I like to joke around. Some of the comments under the pictures were made with that in mind. Don't read to much into it, it is all in fun! Here at Howell Family Fun. Now, come take a look.

NOT TO BE SATISFIED aka feeling a little sick

I didn't start out the day planning on eating so much, it just happened. Now I don't feel so well today. Although I have already started this day off a little better. So far all I have eaten is a bowl of Honey bunch of Oats with milk, a handful of Tostito's corn chips and a partial Balance gold bar. And 1 cup of coffee with milk. We'll see what today brings with the rest of the menu.

WHAT I DECIDED TO EAT YESTERDAY

2 left over pop-tarts
4 bit-o-honeys
2 jaw breakers
2 chewy carmels
1/2 pack of saltine crackers
1 whole row of fig newton cookies
1 bowl of cheese balls
1 cup of coffee
(I was really hungry at this point)
2 BIG glasses of water
8 shrimp
2 tablespoons of cocktail sauce
1/2 swordfish steak
1 serving of broccoli topped with cheese
2 servings of mixed veggies (potatoes, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms)
2 chicken wings
2 ripe tomatos (with salt)
1 ice cream cone filled with 1 scoop of Neapolitan ice cream
1 apple
1 bag of kettle popcorn
2 more BIG glasses of water
1 MGD beer