ICE CREAM SOCIAL

Tomorrow is Friday ---last working day this week, but the best part about tomorrow is that Kristy is coming and bringing our 3 wonderful grandchildren!!! The main reason she picked this weekend to come is because our church is having it's "Annual Ice Cream Social." Our family has made a habit of attending this as often as possible. Handyman always helps with the cooking of the hamburgers and I usually work in the kitchen prior to and for the first hour or so of the event. During that time we cut up desserts, put out salads, start putting the burgers and dogs on the buns, and whatever else comes around. It's great to see how everyone pitches in to make it a success. Last year I think they cooked 400 hamburgers and about 200 hot dogs. Most of the food is donated so the proceeds can all be given away. On Saturday morning I'll need to make a big dish of potato salad plus I've signed up for "another" salad. I'm going to try my hand at a Garden Pea Salad. I never liked this when I was growing up, but have found that I rather enjoy it now.
I'm looking forward to eating some homemade ice cream. Handyman doesn't really care for it so we just don't make it around here. I'm hoping that the granddaughters will enjoy the inflatable that they're going to have for the kids.
Every year those that take the lead get to pick where they'd like to have the money to go. This year, the youth of our church are going to get half and the other half is going to our new "partner" church at Red Bird Mission in eastern Kentucky.

MONEY PLANT

As a child I remember my grandmother giving my mother a bouquet of Money Plant. It was a small bouquet held in one of the many pine needle vases that my grandmother had made. Because they're dried flowers you can keep them around for many years. It seemed that every year the bouquet became a little smaller because it was deteriorating from age. Eventually there was no more money plant. Then a lady at our church grew some and I got another bouquet to give to my mother. But it wasn't quite the same because it didn't come from my grandmother.
I had tried for years to grow the plant, but never could seem to get it to come up from seed. It had been several years since I planted it and happened to notice what I first thought was a weed but after closer inspection decided that it was indeed the much evasive Money Plant. It now reseeds itself yearly and this year I had pretty much ignored it until time for harvest. I cut it a few weeks ago but just now got all of the seed pod coverings cleared away. I still have a nice bunch from last year so I guess I'll donate it to the Bounty Table at church where people can put in a donation for missions and then take the bounty from our gardens.
It just wouldn't seem like home without some of it!!!

CABIN UPDATE

It's coming down to some finishing touches at the cabin. Handyman and I stayed there Friday night and are going back again tomorrow for a few days. I took a few inside pictures to show the finished interior. The above picture is taken as you walk in the front door.

The seating area is along the front wall and under the stairs, across from the dining table.

The new stair banister looks great. It's removable so that furniture can be moved from the upstairs.

The television is mounted on the wall over the kitchen table, but is also viewable from the seating area.

At some point I would still like to put up some window treatments, but at the moment, I still haven't made a decision on what would work best.
At this point, we are enjoying the fruits of handyman's labor.

H O T ! ! !

Is it ever HOT here!?! The temperature is 100 degrees. I heard on the news that we hadn't topped 100 degrees since 2007. The heat index is around 114 degrees.

I'm glad that handyman stayed home from the cabin this afternoon. He's been working way too hard out in the heat!! I'm also glad that the kids decided NOT to go to the zoo today. It's just way too hot!!

There are special warnings out for this afternoon and evening. So stay inside and stay cool!

THIS IS DANGEROUS HEAT!

IF OUTSIDE LATE THIS AFTERNOON...

SLOW DOWN. AVOID STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES.

WEAR LIGHTWEIGHT... LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER... AVOID ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.

STAY OUT OF THE SUN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SUNBURN WILL MAKE IT THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOUR BODY TO DISSIPATE HEAT. USE A SUNSCREEN WITH A HIGH SPF.

IF YOU ARE PERFORMING ANY STRENUOUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON... YOU ARE AT HIGH RISK OF SUFFERING SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION OR HEAT STROKE.

REMEMBER... BEAT THE HEAT... CHECK THE BACK SEAT!

***CHILDREN... ADULTS AND PETS ENCLOSED IN PARKED CARS ARE AT A GREAT RISK. THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE CARS... ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH DARK INTERIORS... CAN CLIMB TO AROUND 150 DEGREES IN THESE CONDITIONS IN A SHORT TIME.