last of the Japanese morning glories

The Japanese morning glories gave me a really good showing this year, but they are about done

 my only complaint is that they have no scent, what a shame!

they have completely covered that handrail, and you can't even see the fish pond in there behind them!

the mums are starting to bloom UNDER the wild jungle of glory vines

Family Reunion time

It's that time of year again, time for the Nicewander family reunion

(dads side of the family)

this year it was held at Strasburg Park

 twins!

 hey, whatcha hiding in the bed of that truck?

 great grand children were fascinated with the water fountain

 catching up

 he would rather stack them than throw them, give him some time LOL

 can only imagine what they were discussing

always a fun time getting to see the ones you haven't seen in awhile and catching up on the new additions to the family :)

4 generations here

Aunt Betty, what a hoot! she is one of only 3 children left of Ben & Ruby Landis Nicewander and she is the oldest sibling

Uncle Jeff is the youngest of the siblings, they are the only 2 who attended this year, we were missing Aunt Virginia who is next to the oldest, we have lost the grandparents, as well as some of the aunts & uncles (Oscar, Richard (my dad), Margaret & Robert) there were 7 siblings, down to 3

my mom and boyfriend, rotten critters

some of the grandchildren with spouses and family

we DID get a whole group shot of everyone attending, but do you think I could get it to load?

I will update if I can get it to load for me later.

Kids homeschooling?

OK yea, I think they were supposed to be doing their homework, I homeschool my 2 heathens but from the look on his face, I think I should go peek over her shoulder to see what she has up on that laptop!

See? hmmmm makes me wonder about them sometimes . . .

and there is baby kitty, always has to be sitting on someone to cuddle with :)

 My beautiful Japanese morning glories are coming to a close for the year, time to get them tagged so I can gather seeds for next year

We are going to build a small greenhouse here, when we sold our other home, the purchaser wanted to buy our greenhouse as well, so we went ahead and sold it to them, but gosh do I miss having one, so we decided we would build one onto the end of our house, now to start gathering material to do that!!

Someone has her drivers permit!

Yes, someone has her permit and it's time to take her auntie for a joy ride!!

But first, my daughter is infatuated with who else, Justin Bieber, I can't personally stand the critter but hey, not my generation! She has her bedroom walls literally covered with him, then she found a "stand up" of him, oh geesh, what's next? a cardboard boy!! life-sized no less GEESH!!!!

she drug him outside for their picture together HA so auntie got a picture

but now to the fun part, get the cardboard boy and the racing helmet because someone has her permit!

and it's time to torture the aunt!

oh yes, you should have seen the comedy unfold, do you even realize how hard it was to get that carboard boy in the car without breaking his neck? just look at her, how PROUD she looks and thinking, I got her now, lets RIDE!

oh yes, you most certainly better buckle up dear auntie!!! and off down the road they go, OMG I am thankful I didn't have to go, I can only imagine WHAT the neighbors down the road thought about this one!

Fresh Apple Cake

Time for a recipe, how about Fresh apple cake?

Fresh Apple Cake

    2 cups sugar

    3 eggs

    1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil

    1/2 cup orange juice

    1/2 tsp. salt

    1 tsp. soda

    1/2 tsp. cinnamon

    1 cup coconut

    1 cup pecans, chopped

    1 cup finely chopped apples

    3 cups plain all-purpose flour

Stir together the sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl. Add orange juice. Sift dry ingredients together and stir to mixture. Stir in apples, coconut and nuts. Bake at 325 degrees in a greased, floured pan for 1 hour or so (check after an hour with toothpick to come out clean.)

Now, do you really want to go over the edge??

Glaze

    Melt one stick of margarine in a pot

    Add 1 cup of sugar

    1/2 tsp baking soda

    1/2 cup of buttermilk

Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Pour over the apple cake after it is baked and while it is still in the pan. Let stand one hour then turn cake out. ENJOY!!

PS: This is a wonderful cake to bake in the small foil loaf pans with the plastic lids. Place loaf pans on a cookie sheet (minus the plastic lid of course), fill each pan about 2/3 of the way full with batter and cook probably half the time. You'll have to watch them because they will bake much faster.

or just sprinkle with powdered sugar!

Kids are growing like weeds & kitty update

So ok, it's back to (home) school for my kidders, they are growing like weeds!

yes, she is the oldest, but he is the tallest, growing so fast!

she is almost 16 and he almost 15 - sorry pic not best, was from my phone

 and the little hen house kitty is ouiside enjoying my pond, still looks like a drowned rat and skinny

but I promise you she is growing

 she still has not really mastered cleaning up after she meals, I still have to wash her face with a wash cloth and it has gotten to be a bit much, her poor fur is starting to come out around her face :(

 but I have to keep her clean, poor baby - I keep saying she is so ugly she's cute, someday she will be beautiful, I just know it

yep, she is all tuckered out and still my baby, since the kids are past the snuggle stage HA