Me and My Dad

This picture of my dad Gary and I was taken last October while we vacationed at our cabin in Windham, NY. My father is one of the sweetest men I have ever met. He is funny, he loves children and he and my mother have a wonderful relationship. I am so glad for the two of them. They really have found their soul mate in each other.

When I was 7 my mother married Gary, my stepfather. It was the best day of my life. I never felt that he wasn't my true father. He never treated me as a stepdaughter. Things just happened for us and it has been a blessing.

Ever since Gary has been in my life it has been fun. He always has me laughing and I love that quality so much. You would fall in love with him too if you met him! He's a man that loves to eat, mainly meat and potatoes, and is always happy at my house when he comes over for dinner. Once he told me that he would never eat anything green, then listed the few green items he has eaten and are 'safe'. He is married to a vegetarian, my mom, and told everyone that she doesn't eat anything with a face or with a mother. He cracks me up!

Anyway, we went to breakfast and had a very nice time. We all took a chance at the Chinese auction and lo and behold, my husband won the best prize! A $100 gift certificate to the Irish Coffee Pub. Awesome! Now we have a date for his birthday dinner on June 24. It's a lovely restaurant and we always enjoy ourselves there. Congratulations babe!

So now Father's Day is winding down and I have to do a little food shopping. I hope all of you fathers out there have enjoyed your day and continue to do so all year long. God Bless.

~thyme2sow

My Party

I had such a nice birthday dinner at my parents house tonight. Ever since I was a little girl my mother has made a dinner of my choice for my special birthday meal. This year I chose BBQ fare. What an excellent choice I must say...

The lavender that we planted was in bloom down the front walkway of the house and I wanted to cut some but it started raining as soon as we finished supper. Here is what it looked like today. It smells soooo good. Don't worry, Louise, I will send you a bunch really soon!




Mom made ribs in the crock pot for 9 hours with her own sauce...they just fell off the bone. Corn bread, apple cole slaw...yummm. There were homemade baked beans, baked chicken and for my birthday cake there was a homemade angel food cake with lemon pudding and homemade whipped cream! Awesome!!! I took home leftovers.



My family was so very nice to me. I got gift certificates and fabric, cash for stash! and some very beautiful cards with such dear sentiments. I am a lucky girl...I know, I'm blessed!




Looking forward to celebrating Father's Day tomorrow morning with my Dad and LH. Up early to get into a pancake breakfast with the boys and Autumn. Our local historical society has an annual breakfast and the money goes to the society, which does a great job.



Now to bed with a very full belly. I thank everyone for celebrating with me another fun and memorable birthday. God Bless us all.
~thyme2sow

It's my Birthday, It's my Birthday!

What a wonderful way to wake up! This morning at 6:15am my 5 year old daughter Autumn Rose woke me up by plopping a bag on my stomach and saying "Is it your Birthday now?" I said yes, and she proceeded to open the gift inside the bag and just before it made its way out of the bag she said, "I hope you like your new nightgown and slippers Mommy!" And I did like them very much. She picked out a pretty summer nightgown with fuzzy pink thong-type slippers. They are lovely and I feel sooo lucky to have such a thoughtful daughter. Thanks Mom...

After snuggling and falling back to sleep with my daughter in our bed my husband made his famous "mish-mosh", a recipe that his dad used to make for him and his siblings way back when. It consisted of eggs, cheese, leftover marinated chicken breast, and ...drum roll please...french fries! It was really good. He presented it on a plate with buttered toast triangles...Top Chef look out!

As I finish my coffee while I type this blog post, I reflect back upon past birthdays. This one is #36. My birthdays have always been very warm, sometimes very hot! After all June is the month for smoldering days. Today is very cool, maybe going to reach 70 degrees. We'll see. At least the sun is shining, it's been so wet here on LI. My garden is doing very well, I will post more pics in a few days. Today I will spend my day stitching and maybe go out and catch a sale at JC Penny's, I saw some very cute summer dresses there last week when shopping for Autumn. I am so due for some new clothes.

I would also like to say another Thank You to my bestest sister-in-law Louise. She sent me some BEAUTIFUL gifts. She knows I love to fondles the fabrics, not unlike herself. She works in a fabric shop and picked out some great stuff for me. I particularly love the paper doll fabrics that everyone is going gaga for lately. She knows me, I love her. She always packs her gifts so lovely. All tied in pinks and lavenders. I am such a blessed girl. I feel the love all the way from NC. Thanks so much Louise!!! Love you guys.
~thyme2sow

That's my girl!

That's Autumn on the bottom right of the triangle, beaming!


Today was a very special day for our daughter Autumn Rose. She had her first gymnastics meet! Our daughter loves gymnastics. She and her friends had a great time and looked so great doing their tricks. My husband also got into the act by standing at the foot of the mini tramp while Autumn's coach jumped over him! Boy that guy can jump. What a show, it was great to see Autumn as a part of a team. She really has grown both in strength and with her teamwork. Her listening skills have also improved and so has her focus. I am glad that she is involved and look forward to September when she will start up again. Congratulations Autumn Rose, we love you!
~Thyme2sow

Puppy Update...

As of last night, our house guest has officially left us. I am pleased to know the kind woman that took her. I found out that she lives only a few blocks away. Most of all I am hoping that the puppy never runs away and makes it back to our house! Could you imagine? Yeah, stranger things have happened.
~thyme2sow

PLEASE TAKE ME HOME!

I will be the first one to say that I love animals. Love them love them love them. I currently have 2 full grown dogs, Havana and Gingerella. I love them with all of my heart. The other day my LH came home with a puppy. He said she was just visiting and would be taken by a friend in a couple of days. At this time the man has not come over to even see the dog and our sweet little house guest is getting very cozy on my bed next to my sleeping husband.

If anyone out there is in the market for a sweet little girl puppy, not yet named, aged 8 weeks, boxer mix with a great attitude and brains to match, please give me a shout. Leave a comment etc. I would love her to go to a nice home, she is great with children. My 5 year old is carrying her all over the house and dressing her up in all sorts of doll clothes. She is doing well with the other dogs in our house and we are all the time working on house and leash training her. She does well in the crate, just using it for when I have to clean the floors or when there is people food around. Seriously, if there is anyone out there that would make a good fit for this little sweetie, let us know. Thanks friends,
~thyme2sow

Our new house guest.

Well ,my husband did it again. After promising not to he brought home a puppy. Of course he explained it away, saying that he knows someone that had their dog stolen right out of their car and was in need of a replacement. Well, my husband is always going to the rescue for someone, always putting himself last. Looks like I came in at the bottom of the list too, cleaning up after the puppy seems to be my job now. Here is a picture of our new house guest, Odie-Cutie-Cookie-Goldie-Sandy...you pick the name. She is a very good puppy and will make someone a very happy owner.
~thyme2sow

Everything is blooming!

Since the rains have been coming a little bit more frequently lately, everything is blooming! My garden went in late this year but I know that since I started everything from seed it will do great. Looking forward to our harvest!
~thyme2sow

Memorial Day in Windham, NY 2009

I Love our families' Mountain House in Windham, NY. It is such a peaceful place to be. I never want to leave when I am up there. From the minute you step out of the car the smell of wild thyme permeates your senses, and the view is absolutely spectacular! As soon as Autumn gets out of the car she runs toward the stream, which was running just a tiny bit this past visit. Our property is about 42 acres, and is mostly mountainous with a clearing through a right-of-way where there are power lines. This is the best spot for mountain berry picking! I usually find black berries and a few raspberry patches in there. I love hiking by myself and picking as much as I can in a zip lock bag, eating as I go along. The berries are usually their best about Labor Day. We brought our dogs this past weekend. My Weimeraner loves to hike with me while the Basset Hound hangs around the cabin and calls to us at the top of the Mountain.

We did a little work, well my husband Steven did some, while we were there. He put up some crown mouldings along the ceiling and we hooked up a water line from the stream to allow some running water to come to us at the cabin. It was a lot of fun work.

While we were working, we found a tree in the woods where a chipmunk was going in and out of. Autumn made a sign for the entrance of the "house". By the way, the chipmunk is called "Windy". We fed the wildlife all weekend, as we always do, and got a lot of joy out of it. Autumn loves to fill up the feeder with black sunflower seeds for the Black Capped Chickadees, which feed out of her hand, and peanuts for the others, mostly chipmunks.

Graduation Day!

Congratulations Autumn Rose! What a beautiful day it was to see my 5 year old daughter Autumn graduate at the top of her preschool class. I have had the pleasure of being one of her teachers for the past 3 years and it has been a wonderful experience. Autumn is truly ready for Kindergarten. Good luck sweetie!
~thyme2sow