I've Got the Blues...

Well, it's August again. The one thing that happens every August, typically the first week here in Michigan, is Blueberries. Yup, it's jam season on top of that. I've not been doing very well with jam season this year. The eldests' grad party put a BIG damper on the Strawberry season, I didn't get to go and even pick one berry, NOT ONE!! Needless to say, not too many people here were happy with that because Strawberry jam is the most coveted jam here in this household, well, ok, next to Raspberry. I've decided not to make any grape jelly at all, ever again! So, it's on to Blueberry. Tom, Steve and I picked quite a few when we went on opening day, I do believe we picked about 50 lbs. and that's not counting the ones that Steve picked for himself! Some people we know went to pick the day after we did and didn't get more than about 4 lbs. of berries. I guess we were lucky to have gone the first day! It's unbelieveable the amount of berries that the Amish people pick. One family we talked to while picking said that they were going to be taking around 200 lbs. of berries....YES, 200 lbs. It was amazing to see all of their buckets and coolers up by the counter when we left, whew, I sure wouldn't want to be taking care of all of those!!!!!!!!!

It's been a fairly hot summer here, and very, very dry. A lot of the crops around here and really all around the state are in very bad shape right now. The corn doesn't look like it's gonna be a good crop at all...how sad. I guess the price of Tostitos will be going up, heh. Oh my, can you imagine the price of popcorn at the theatres if that crop is at all affected by this dry weather! We'll be paying $50 for a lg. tub of buttered corn instead of the normal $20!! (joke)

It's hard to believe that there are less than 3 weeks before school starts. I'm very glad that they finally changed it back to starting after Labor Day. Not sure why, but I just am. Alex has started football practice, they actually started Monday. He's been quite sore these past few days, I really can't believe how hard they work them the first 2 weeks, then hardly work them at all after that. Hmmmm.

My oldest child_unit will be leaving a week from Sunday for college :( It really only makes me more sad that he's leaving because I know how badly he wants to be gone from here. I'm not quite sure why he feels so strongly that he's got it so bad here, he has no real responsibilities at all!!!! I'm sure his friends can attest to that! I know the biggest fury has been "thank you notes" from his grad party. I have to be sure that he actually gets them finished before he leaves. *sigh* I don't think he realizes just how much I'm gonna miss him not being here, and if he does realize, does he even care? I remember leaving my ma, I really did care and was concerned about her when I moved out. I still do care. Where did I go wrong? I guess I can only pray for him and hope that someday............................................well, I'll just leave it at that. It makes me sad.

I really feel like I need to bake now, it has a calming affect on me. Gee, what could I bake...hmmmmm, I know....Blueberry pie, hehehe...got lots of them!!! (blueberries that is).

Em has decided not to play volleyball this fall, for this I am very glad. There are a lot of reasons she decided not to play, but only one imparticular made her ultimate decision. It was the right choice! It seems, though, that the Girls Varsity basketball coach has quit and gone back to AE. That sucks! He had assured her that she would be playing on Varsity this year. (She's only a sophmore this year) I'm not sure why he quit, he had been working w/ the girls a lot this summer to get them ready. Oh well, I'm sure they'll get someone to take his place, they always do. I just wish that they could get the Fritz's back to coach, I've heard that they're phenomenal coaches, a little loud, but good. I've also heard that they don't get along well w/ the athletic director at the school...hmmmm, dilemma...who goes, the awesome coaches or the mediocre athletic director? *pondering* I guess we don't have to worry about this till November.

The two youngest child_units are as abnoxious as ever. They are bored out of their minds of course. D plays a lot of Xbox and the such and C reads a LOT. Speaking of reading, all of the people in this household that care have read the final installment of Harry Potter. Yes, the ending was somewhat of a letdown. But, on the whole, it was a very good read. I was VERY confused about the wands towards the end, but Ben helped to explain it all to me. I do have to admit to shedding a few tears through the book, and of course, laughed a few times w/ George and Fred. Shall my grief for Dobby ever be consoled? I, like Hermione, rallied for the freedom of house elves!! My Hero! (Dobby that is)

Oh, Sarah....have you read "The Kite Runner" or "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini? If you haven't, you can borrow mine when you come home, they're both incredible books! YOU'LL BE HOME SOON!! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Did I mention that I have to do laundry today too? I did some yesterday, and then a few days before that. It wouldn't seem like such a big deal, but when you have to go to the laundramat, it IS a big deal, especially when it's been so hot....I can't just stay in the luxury of my air-conditioned home to do this menial task. Oh well, I'll live as I have lived before.....live to do MORE laundry in a couple more days! Yay.

Well, I just realized that I've been sitting HERE too long and the blueberries out THERE are NOT getting done.

Y'all enjoy a nice glass of lemonade in today's heat,
Love Ya :)