Away, away

I could easily do 7 Long Takes today, but I won't.  You'll just have to wait a little longer to find out where I've been.  Don't worry, it really hasn't been exciting, and it's left me absolutely exhausted.

I've mostly been away (not on vacation) - and away from internet at that.  I am probably one of the few people left in this country who only accesses the internet from her home desktop and so has no internet when traveling.

I was pleasantly surprised to return home to find lots of new posts by Kate, Martha, and Michelle about their love stories.  I haven't had a chance to read them all yet, but it is so much fun!  Lots of memories and lots of smiles.

Go read their stories.  I'll write more later.

Farewell Organjo

7 Quick Takes: July 12 Edition

-1-

Whoa! It's Friday again?  This week went by quickly.  I'm pretty sure that this entire week I had a very poor grasp on time.  I'm okay with that though.  So here we are linking up with Jen.

-2-

Please keep Martha's little guy A in your prayers. I know this week's been a rough one, and while they are (thankfully!) home for now, I'm sure they'd appreciate many more prayers.

-3- 

I am angry at Google right now.  First they took away Reader.  Now I log into my email and get "Meet the new inbox!"  NO, THANK YOU.  I don't like change.  I hate it. 

Maybe these new tabs things will be helpful, but right now I don't like them.

Oh and Facebook too!  Why? Why? Why?  I've come to expect constant change from Facebook, but it is still irritating.

-4- 

Tomorrow should be interesting.  Our neighbors have organized a block-wide yard sale.  I don't have much to sell - just one thing really the Organjo.  I know some people are going to be heartbroken about this (really, I'll be heartbroken if it doesn't go.  Actually, I'll be happily surprised if it goes). 
What is the Organjo?  An old Hammond electric organ we got for free.  It has a "banjo" voice - hence the name.  Sorry to all the people who will be sad to see it go.  It was a great party conversation piece.

-5-

 Speaking of selling things, I'd like to put in a plug for my cousin's new company!

She and some friends have started UGo Bars - a company that bakes and sells healthy energy bars.
$2.00 a bar (a handmade, homebaked bar!) they are currently featuring a cherry-cacao flavor.
You can place an order via email and it will ship from Bloomington, IN straight to your door!

Go like them on Facebook and place an order!

-6-

The other day I finished reading Confederates in the Attic which was recommended to me. (See #6)  It was a really fun read.  The book started a flurry of Civil War mania in this household.  The hubby picked up and blew through both The Killer Angels and The Last Full Measure (not his first time reading either).  It was so inspiring that when we took my brother-in-law to the "beach" this was built:

 

-7-

I still think 5 Quick Takes would be enough.

Pinteresting: Cell Phone Holder

This was one of the very first pins I pinned when I joined Pinterest - possibly the first.  It's great idea:

Idea of the Day
Take an empty bottle, cut it off so it fits your phone, leaving at the top a little loop to hang off the charger.  Decorate as desired.

The original pin is very pretty.  She took the time to delicately round and smooth all the edges.  She mod-podged this cute fabric to it.  It looks glorious and functional!

My take on it is a little less polished, but I don't care.

I took an empty shampoo bottle and a knife. That's all.  No fancy-shmancy stuff here.  I think to myself "hmm, maybe someday I'll decorate it."  But really why bother?  I did remove the labels at least.

I use this thing every time I charge my phone.  It allows me to plug the phone into an outlet in the kitchen that hangs above the dish rack.  The holder keeps the phone out of the dishes and away from grabby little hands that would love to play with Mommy's phone and rip the charger out.

The only thing I would note is to make sure the bottle accommodates both the phone and the charger.  My phone is not smart at all. The charger attaches to the side.  That added an extra 1/2 of an inch to the phone's width because of the plug and curving cord.  I had to chop extra bottle off to get it to fit.  Not a big deal, but just mildly annoying since I thought I was done.  

7 Quick Takes: July 5 Edition

-1-

Whoohoo look at this! It's only 8:30pm, it's still daylight outside and I have a few minutes to sit down and write some paltry post.  I warned you all to not expect too much from this blog.  So here we go...linking up with Jen.  

-2-

"How is she sitting down so early?" you may be wondering.  Well, my friends, my brother-in-law has come for a visit, and he and my husband decided that while I was at work today they would have as much fun with the Little Man as possible - wear him out so he'd take an early nap.

They failed.

The poor guys tried a two hour walk & playground excursion.  They played many games.  All for naught.  The Little Man would not nap.  I arrived home, and he continued in his wide-eyed and bushytailed state.  The gentlemen decided they were not tired either, so they set out to play some evening tennis.

I sat down with the little guy, and after reading the same book no less than 8 times in a row (possibly more, and it is not a short book), he whipped out the towel that usually serves as a changing pad, threw it on the floor and insisted I lay down with him.

A few minutes later:

Silence is golden.


(Don't worry, he's in his bed now.)

-3- 

The book we were reading is this darling story:

Albert the Fix-It Man

Written and illustrated by two sisters, it's a very sweet story of a man who helps everyone and in turn is helped by others.  We've been participating in our library's Summer Reading Challenge.  I'm very glad that the program is open to all people from birth up!  Even though I'm the one usually picking the books and always logging and reviewing what we read together, it's helped me be more motivated in making sure there's always a variety of books for us to read together.  It's also motivated us to go to the library more often - and he LOVES that!

 -4- 

I love summer.  One of the best things about it is fresh fruit!  The other day a friend called me up and we took our little ones out to pick strawberries! 

8 pounds!  Not bad for the end of the season.  Now I have some in the freezer, 5 jars of jam, and 6 jars of various flavored sauce perfect for topping ice cream.  Strawberry and whiskey sauce anyone?  It was a hit last night!

-5-

Speaking of last night....Good grief!!!  I was beginning to wonder if our town had decided to bombard our neighbors to the north to try to annex their land.  I have never heard so many fireworks!  Granted, where I grew up you could not could not set off fireworks in your backyard and here you can.  This was only our second Independence Day here (we'd always traveled before), but I really didn't remember it being so violent last year.

This morning my favorite radio weatherman provided an explanation: last year we were in drought conditions so there was a ban.  This year, people were free to let loose.  And they did.

It sounded like a warzone.  The Little Man was terrified and cried quite a bit.

And for all the noise, I didn't get to see a single one. 

-6-

Back to the subject of books... Kate included me in a book exchange via snail mail. I now need to find 6 willing mommy (or daddy) participants to pass the letter on to.  The idea is you send one book, pass on the letter to 6 more people, and you get 36 books in return (if everyone does their part).  Do any of my readers want to participate? Let me know. I have some people in mind, but thought I'd put it up here just in case there's someone who'd really love to do it.  Friends and books -what a perfect combination!

-7-

Okay, down to 7. While I'm throwing stuff out to the crowd - does anyone have any suggestions for the blog? Any inspiration to get me running?  I'd be glad for any thoughts! 

Have a great weekend!