There's a Song in the Air

I'm joining:

Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time

Spring Cottage Garden Party over at Etsy Cottage Style

I have been waking up every morning with this

lovely Mockingbird serenading me ♥♥

I love him...or her.

It sits on top of my neighbors fruit tree

which is near by bedroom window.

The past few years it sat on the street light in front of our home

I wonder is it knows there is one less in the house?

All I know is it feels very comfortable there

and wakes me with a song that puts a smile on my face.

All my citrus are in full bloom

and they smell heavenly!

Lemon

Lime

Orange

My Cecil Brunner Rose has been showing off.

The scent is spectacular when you walk into the gazebo!

Most of the Roses are budding out

These guys were all a chatter when I was outside.

I think they were happy that I removed all there Winter coverings

and did some Spring cleaning in their aviary

Guess Katie needs a drink ;)

It seems I find something new blooming everyday.

I love this time of year!

♥♥♥

Solar Lanterns

Ok So I'm Hooked!

You remember the Solar Chandy I made,

well I decided to keep going with the idea.

I found this metal bird cage and fitted it with

a solar lighted mason jar and added a bit of moss

for color (and to fill in some of the extra room).

Shhh...

this is what I'm giving my sister and hubby for Easter ♥

I made a few more 

I love the verdigris color of this basket

the patterns they make

can be so pretty at night

How about one in an urn?

Love it!

 ♥♥♥

Sad but True

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock

(MADE IN JAPAN )

for 6 am.

While his coffeepot

(MADE IN CHINA)

was perking, he shaved with his

electric razor

(MADE IN HONG KONG)

He put on a

dress shirt

(MADE IN SRI LANKA),

designer jeans

(MADE IN SINGAPORE)

and

tennis shoes

(MADE IN KOREA)

After cooking his breakfast in his new

electric skillet

(MADE IN INDIA)

he sat down with his

calculator

(MADE IN MEXICO)

to see how much he could spend today.

After setting his watch

(MADE IN TAIWAN )

to the radio

(MADE IN INDIA )

he got in his car

(MADE IN GERMANY )

filled it with GAS

(from Saudi Arabia )

and continued his search

for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging

and fruitless day

checking his

Computer

( made in MALAYSIA ),

John decided to relax for a while.

He put on his sandals

(MADE IN BRAZIL ),

poured himself a glass of

wine

(MADE IN FRANCE )

and turned on his
TV

(MADE IN INDONESIA ),

and then wondered why he can't

find a good paying job

in AMERICA

Stay Young My Friend

We all need to read this one over and

over until it becomes part of who we are!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Try everything twice.

On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph:

"Tried everything twice. Loved it both times!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends.

The grouches pull you down.

(Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning:

Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever...

Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'

And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.

Laugh until you gasp for breath.

And if you have a friend who makes you laugh,

spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6.. The tears happen:

Endure, grieve, and move on.

The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.

LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love:

Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever..

Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:

If it is good, preserve it.

If it is unstable, improve it.

If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips..

Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,

to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

I love all my blogger friends.



One of the Projects in my Head...Finally Done!

This is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time, but you know how it is...things get pushed into the background.

I love the little solar lights that Walmart has. They are so inexpensive!

I've used them along the front walk

and along the walkway in the backyard too.

They even have spot lights that I've installed.

LOL Installed...just stick them in the ground,

making sure they will receive sun, of course, and that's it!

Anyway, on to my project.

This was a "use what I have project"...

meaning I didn't have to buy anything!

I have my Mom's old pressure cooker for canning.

It's been in the garage for a few years, but don't want to get rid of it (too sentimental). I'm not sure how to use it but I noticed the "basket" on the inside.

I saw this somewhere but can't remember where.

Now this basket holds the mason jars you're canning.

I love mason jars and have tons from both sides of my family.

When you remove the top part of the solar light from the stand,

 it "fits" pretty well inside the screw rings for the jars.

I had a few of the lights leftover from the walkway,

and my light bulb lit.

I had a can of hammered copper spray paint left from another project

I painted the rings, so they would better match the lights.

I glued the lights to the rings.

I plan to keep this "chandy"

here during the day so the lights can absorb

as much sunlight as possible.



One thing I forgot...

I needed chain!

Luckily I found some in the garage in my stash.

I then wove bailing wire (from my stash from the farm)

in and out of it to make it stronger and to make a hook at the top

so I'd be able to hang it.

I've been wanting just subtle lighting in the gazebo

and this fits the bill perfectly. 

When needed I just grab the chandy as I walk along the pathway 

 to the gazebo and hang it up.

Voila`!

Not to bad huh?...

didn't cost anything to make,

doesn't cost anything to run,

perfect! 

YAY!

Check off one of my to do's ☺☺

Now only 9,485 to go.


How about some gratuitous garden photos ;)

Hey, I got Petunias in my calf buckets!
I just transplanted them so leaving them here for a few days
before I hang them back on the fence.

Most of my Lilacs are in bloom

the Roses are beginning

baby Grapes ☺

Apple Blossoms

I love Forget-me knots.

They reseed so readily and always bloom so well.

Love the color and how they fill in gaps for me ;)

the Freesias are starting to bloom,

they smell so good.

Cherry Blossoms

The Redbud is full of sweet tiny purplish red blooms

I was surprised to see this Browelia blooming,

I forgot it was even there.

  

a Fairy Ring?

 Weird how the Yarrow reseeded in a circle.
Cranesbill blooming next to it.

Ah, a sea of Baby Tears....

it engulfs everything in the winter,

then come the summer heat,

 it retreats back into the shade of the front arbor.

Wishing everyone a great week!

If you like this post you may enjoy these 

Garden items and plants in my shop

1895 8th grade final exam

Heck! Over half of the college grads today couldn't pass this test

Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!

1895 8th grade final exam

Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends.

 

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?


This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA ... It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal...

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,' 'play,' and 'run'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet Long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs, what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7percent per annum.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft long at $20 per metre?
8... Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States ...
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7 Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9.. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2.. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America .
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9.. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

HUH??? Are they kidding??? This is hard to believe....

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Stay off your Bicycle

My wife found out that our dog (a Schnauzer) could hardly hear, so she took it to the veterinarian.

The vet found that the problem was hair in the dog's

ears. He cleaned both ears, and the dog could then hear fine. The vet then proceeded to tell Andrea that, if she wanted to keep this from recurring, she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month.

Andrea went to the store and bought some "Nair" hair remover. At the register, the pharmacist told her, "If you're going to use this under

your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days."

Andrea said, "I'm not using it under my arms."

The pharmacist said, "If you're using it on your legs, don't use body lotion for a couple of days."

Andrea replied, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my Schnauzer."

The pharmacist says, "Well, stay off your bicycle for about a week."

 

Whoa! Flash Back.....

or maybe I should say flash dance?

The kids chose to dress in 80's theme for Pool League Night

trying to throw the other team off balance...

Tab, Tanya, Tracy, Brandon

and Melissa

My sweet baby girl

Tab and Melissa ~

doesn't M look like she just stepped out of the video

by Twisted Sister "We aint gonna take"?

she could pass as Dee Snyder's daughter!! 

LOL

THE YELLOW LIGHT

The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

 

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

 

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

 

He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

 

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, ''I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally....I assumed you had stolen the car.''

Priceless.