Apple Harvest From Our Own Trees!

Well, it may not be a bumper crop but it's their first year after being planted.  I took a couple pictures as we picked our last few apples from our trees.  I'm very impressed with how well they did this year.  Bagging the apples seemed to work at keeping worms out of the apples.

Seen These Flowers Before?

We have these lovely yellow flowers grow around our grape vines each year.  They're about 7 or 8 feet tall, perennial, and they bloom in early Fall.  I haven't seen them anywhere else.  I'm curious about what they are.

And some gratuitous chicken cuteness provided by Teeny the bantam hen

Wordless Wednesday

Butterfly Bush

A couple of weeks ago we found about 15 monarch butterflies on some flowers in our backyard.  Lovely and magical!

T-Shirt Review from tshirtprinting.net

I received a t-shirt from T Shirt Printing.net to review.  I wasn't sure what to expect since I've seen many promotional shirts that are super thin fabric that falls apart after being washed a few times. This t-shirt was nothing like my preconceived notion of a promotional shirt.  The fabric is soft and comfortable.  The design is vibrant and attractive.


The shirt:  I'm very impressed with the thickness of the material.  It's not your typical flimsy promotional t-shirt. It is a nice thick shirt and it's cottony soft. The tag says it's 90% cotton and 10% polyester. It's been worn and washed multiple times and there hasn't been stretching, shrinkage, or pilling.  The sizing does not run small either.  This shirt was a medium and fit my daughter well. 


The design:  After being washed and dried (in the dryer on normal) three times there has been no peeling, cracking, splitting or fading of the design.  It looks great and is thick enough to last but is still very flexible and moves with the fabric.


Need a t-shirt for your business or event?  I'd suggest contacting tshirtprinting.net!

My adorable daughter in her Funky Monkey t shirt from tshirtprinting.net

I recieved the shirt for review purposes only. No other compensation was received and the opinions expressed are my daughter's and my honest opinions.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

This is a meme from The Broke and the Bookish called Top Ten Tuesday.  I'm late to the party but this week's theme really caught my attention because it's something I was talking to my daughter about a few days ago. 

Most of these books I've read many times, but I miss the first read when I didn't know what was going to happen.  When I was exploring this new world and I was so caught up in it that I couldn't stop reading and if I had to stop it was all I could think about.

So here is my list, in no particular order.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: 

I think that one of his great strengths in writing is making such interesting characters. The world of Battle School is fascinating as is the psychological manipulation.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen:  

Aside from the romance which IS lovely, one of the things that I love about Jane Austen is that she understands people so well and she's able to make us laugh about it.

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld:  

This was a fun YA adventure that opened up an extra hour in the day that only some people get to experience.  I really like books that draw me into a new world that I haven't experienced before.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: 

Another great romance and I love Jane's quiet strength.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: 

Wow! This book was stunning and the language is often poetic.  Not lyrically poetic, more rythmic and touching.  

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: 

Another book that drew me into a new world

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing:

I didn't think I would like this book at all.  I was desperate for something to read and so I went through my husband's library books.  I started reading this and I could not put it down.  An amazing true story.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore:

I read this because my oldest daughter couldn't stop talking about how much she loved it.  I soon found out why. : )

Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter:

I've read this book so many times from when I was a child to now.  I actually just reread it last month.  A story about a teen-aged girl growing up through tragedy to become a strong confident woman. I highly recommend it.  

I considered adding Little Women to my list but I get something different out of it each time I read it based on my age and experience.  I loved it as a child but as I get older each reading brings me more understanding of the characters and a different perspective.  I wouldn't want to give that up.

I'd love to hear your opinions on these books or the books that you would like to reread for the first time.

"Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers."

Rescued Kitten

About 2 months ago I got an email from my sister telling me that she and her husband found two kittens abandoned in the woods.  They weren't feral because they both came over to them when they were called.  Poor babies were covered in so many fleas and were soooo hungry. She also had worms.  : (  

My husband knows that I've wanted a cat for a while but he didn't want one so we've been catless for about 10 years.  I KNEW he couldn't be so heartless to refuse to rescue a kitten though!

So he was laying down upstairs and I went and started telling him the very, very, very, very sad story of the lost, abandoned and starving kittens and he started laughing (or crying?) and put his pillow over his head. And then I pulled the pillow away from him so he wouldn't miss any details.  And then he tried to conclude the story for me by saying that the kittens were put in a gas chamber crying mew mew mew.  And I beat him with his pillow.  I concluded the story with a much happier ending in which I had advised my sister that I would take both kittens.  And he said (and I quote) "BOTH kittens?!?!"   And that my dear readers was most definitely permission to get one! HA HA HA!  Then he asked if everyone would take care of it or if it would get dumped on him.  I said... dumped on him. : )  Just to set the correct expectations.

And here is our lovely Olive.  Oliver is still living with my sister while she finds him a home.

p.s. He actually hasn't had to do much for the cat at all because our children have been doing a fabulous job of taking care of her. 

Tiger Daughter

A couple of pics of my daughter after she got home from the circus yesterday. : )  She was so sleepy!

Uni Sushi

I love sushi!

It may be a bit of an acquired taste.  It's not something that I used to think I would enjoy but I started out slowly with cooked items like Ebi Nigeri (cooked shrimp on rice) and California Rolls and worked my way up from there.  Now I'll eat just about any kind of sushi.  One kind of sushi that I always wanted to try is Uni Sushi.  Uni is the edible part of the sea urchin.  I wasn't sure if I'd like it but I'm fairly adventurous and often like new things when I try them.

I had Uni Sushi last week and it was delicious!  The Uni did not taste like fish to me, more of a meaty taste but I can't think of anything to compare it to.  I'll definitely have it again.

How do you feel about sushi?  Is there any unusual food that you want to try?

Ebi Nigiri

Uni Sushi

Pictures are from aboutsushi.net.  They also have a guide to trying sushi.