Home day.

I know, two post in one day but today is actually the first day that I have had to sit around the house in a while. And so Chris decided that he had had enough of the glare through the blinds onto the television. He wanted curtains! Which was actually a lot easier than hanging the blinds.

We found the perfect curtains kind of beach cottage but still masculine.

We carefully measured. We didn't want to have the curtains dragging on the ground nor did we want them hanging short of the window. The curtain measurements were on the package. We found the center of the window. And measured five inches above that, which seemed to be the perfect height. Then we stretched out the measuring tape and got the bracket places level parallel to the window. This is most important so that the curtain doesn't hang crooked.

We also checked to make sure the brackets were level up and down. Chris's small level was just perfect for this.

After marking every thing and making sure it was level, that's what I'd like to say. But Chris is a more getter' done kind of guy, So it was "this looks good." and I don't need that. Measure and up they go.

The package says this is a 30 minute job. It took us about 10 minutes and that includes trying to figure out how to get the curtains on the poles.

And ta da! They do look great. And the dog jumped off the couch on to them to test them and they didn't fall down so... I love them.

Dinner

So... for dinner we decided why cook? We had all this left over meat loaf. So we invented these most scrumptious sandwiches ever. We took the cold meat loaf slices and topped them with big thick slices of tomato, some mozzarella, salt, and minced garlic. Then grilled them for 10 minutes in the oven on 450. Then served them on 12 grain natures pride wheat bread. That's the kind with the sunflower seeds in it. Added a little mayo and ketchup. We had fries on the side. But a mandarin salad would have been great too. They were so good and hearty they filled us right up.

VB's birthday.

Last weekend was VB's birthday. She invited a few friends over to spend the night. We were going to hook her up with a red neck water slide down the hill in the back yard but we finally had some fall weather so it was too cold. Last weekend we had record lows and this weekend we've got record highs. Actually from last night to today the temperature difference was 18 degrees. And people think the desert has brutal extremes. That's what they say about Florida... "If you don't like the weather...just wait and it will change."

Any way... Mom came by and brought a bunch of kites. Apparently she found some great sale and bought the store out. So the next day the kids had a great time flying kites.

They had a difficult time at first

But soon they learned if you can get it up high enough the winds are steadier and you don't have to do as much running. So when the wind blew they let the string out. And when it was calm they ran a little.

Before I knew it they got the kites up. Tied the extra bit of string on (250 more feet).The original string was probably 100ft. They were all so happy. Until finally the string ran out and they didn't know to make sure it was tied to the string holder. So up up and away the kites went. Crashing into each other and becoming one. They finally were captured by an old oak tree two houses away the only problem was they had walked three houses in the other direction. While the kite string was stuck in the tree the kites flopped about above the tree. The string laid perfectly across the tops of all our neighbors houses. Winding around a satellite dish or two. Luckily the string pulled free of the houses. (woof) and we recovered one kite from the tree. But that's what always happens to kites they end up in a tree.

Last night VB whipped up a batch of these awesome muffins. I think they were an invention of my mom. They were delicious and thought I would share the recipe.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins.

1 Package (18.25oz) White cake mix 1tsp baking soda

1cup crunchy peanut butter 3/4 cups water

2 eggs 1/3 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and baking soda. Add peanut butter, water, and eggs; beat just until blended.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups about two-thirds full. Place a teaspoonful of jam in center of batter in each muffin cup. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.

Serve warm. Yealds about 18 muffins.

Veronica used squeezable grape jam. They were very yummy. She is such an awsome litte baker.

Fall

It doesn't feel like fall at all. It's so hot and sticky all I keep hearing is how everyone is ready for cooler weather. The heat index has been in the hundreds. But you can tell it's fall because all the halloween decorations are starting to come out. Even our dog has gotten into the act.

VB wrote a poem about fall:

The Day Fall Fell

When I walk outside I can

see the leaves changing

colors. Everybody is

making turkey. The

smell of the pumpkin

pie feels like it's standing

next to me. All the

children playing in

the streets. I love

to feel the coldness

of the air.

Fall where are you??????????

Also I snapped another visitor to our little lake.

It's a Great Blue Heron. They stay in this area year round but they are a migratory bird and are found all over. There most be a lot of tasty treats in there for the birds. Probably frogs. I'm surprised he didn't fly north to get some cooler weather.