Tagged by Mathman.
1. Where was I ten years ago?
Staying at home with J while E was in kindergarten. Lots of gardening and working in the yard, taking nature walks on the farm, and time spent not thinking about what was going wrong.


2. What was on my To Do list today?
Make it through the day at school, send a sympathy card to our video store owner who's husband died, make dinner, mow some lawn, read.


3. What would I do if I were a billionaire?
Find a beautiful place on a lake with woods and build a house big enough I could have my whole family visit and vacation there when they liked. I'd staff it with help, too so there was no work for anyone while visiting.
I'd do some giving, too.

4. Five places I've lived. Clarkton, Mo., Poplar Bluff, Mo., Springfield, Mo., Branson, Mo. , Seymour, Mo.


5. Bad habits -You've got to be kidding! Moi?!
Calling myself an idiot in front of my kids when I mess something up, eating all the chocolate in the house, even if it's not mine, drinking all the alcohol in the house, even if it's not mine, not focusing on whats being said by my kids sometimes and getting into trouble about it.


Thank you Mathman. Anyone care to add their two cents?

Anyone have a suggestion on what to use for blog visit stats? I was using Sitemeter and I have to say, I either am an idiot or it changed to a very confusing, awkward and unpleasant- sort of like my relatives.
Anyway, let me know what you all use if you care to.

Now that was a brilliant post- very upbeat and exciting.

All night (or so it seemed) I dreamed of darting mice.

I shouldn't have had that bowl of Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs right before bed....

Taking a nice long break...
I am bored to death with myself.

Rain, sweet rain.
Sorry it had to come at the pain and chaos of others.

Walking forward but looking backwards a lot lately. Not feeling badly except for the losses.
I think I am slowing down and its a scary thought. I can guard against it, I suppose. But is it a bad thing to look backwards as long as one doesn't wish for things to have been different?
In youth we tend to rush forward, waiting in anticipation for the next day, the next week, the next month and so on. There is always something to rush forward to. I know this is how I felt- time couldn't pass fast enough for me, unless it was kissing a certain Mark from my teenage years.
As one ages, time starts to roll fasting and we start to feel like it's out of control (an illusion that we had any control in the first place). It's different for everyone, I suppose.
Time goes so fast now for me, it's making me dizzy.

I think I'm not busy enough.

Labor Day Indeed

It's dry here. Really dry. No measurable rain for 3 or 4 weeks. The black walnut trees went to shedding leaves weeks ago and now most others are following suite.
My "thousand" tomato plants (just seemed like that many) are about to wind down. (Just think- you won't have to hear me blabbing about tomato plants soon!) My most prolific producer- "Golden Jubilee"- was by far the most delicious. It made some honking good spaghetti sauce and fresh salsa. The only plant that seems as though it will stick around for now is my cherry tomato. I can't remember if it was a "Sweet 100" or something else. It works well seeded and sliced on a pizza or just popped in my mouth although they are sort of large for a single bite.
My peppers and eggplants didn't amount to much. They usually produce like crazy. I ended up with only one jalapeno plant and it hasn't put much out. BTW, I found jalapenos can be frozen whole and popped out of the freezer, can be diced up pretty fast and tidy. I think I might try that with the few remaining peppers I get.
My green beans have been yummy and after I pulled out the "done" tomato plants, I seeded more green beans so I could have a fall crop and perhaps can them. I have never canned them myself before but my mom told me she would show me how. They can be blanched and frozen but somehow they aren't nearly as good that way. Canning them ensures they cook up in all their green beanie goodness.

The other day across town I spied a cherry tree FULL of cherries someone hasn't picked. Should I - dare I- ask if I could pick them?! I can't figure out what variety they are- maybe sweet cherries, although those aren't known to grow in Missouri at all. All the sour cherry trees should have been well done by the end of June.
Speaking of spying fruits unpicked by the land owners- I noticed beside my modular where my office is, the yard that bumps up to it has grapes on the fence bordering me. They weren't picking them a couple of years ago so I asked for them, got the go- ahead and made some jelly I took back to them. I still have grape juice from that picking in my freezer there were so many. It pays to keep your eyes peeled but I can't believe people would waste something as precious as fresh fruit!

It's a day of watering at the school's gardens. I forgot the hose was on the memorial garden all night- do you suppose that administration will wonder why the water bill was so high for August? All they have to do is watch the film from the surveillance camera to see what yayhoo was using the water!
Today is the outdoor classroom garden's water day. I have to pack up my personal hoses and add to the others at school to reach all the way. That is dedication, folks. To be honest, the Missouri native species plants and trees in the garden are doing ok with this dryness but still need a bit of a drink.