4th of July

We had a busy 4th of July weekend - it began with a super-busy day at work Saturday. That evening we enjoyed small firework displays in our neck of the woods (or more appropriately our neck of the cornfields)! Sunday morning we were praying for sunshine and no rain so everyone could enjoy the 4th of July parade in Coralville. Once again, the credit union had a festive float, complete with four "old guys" (their words-not mine) who played fun music on the route. "In Heaven There Is No Beer" and the Hawkeye fight song were crowd faves. Later we barbecued.
Monday, we didn't do too much - some tidying up, baked a cake, visited with my friend Betsy, Marvin and their son, Landon. But the look on Ellie's face pretty much sums it up - we are pooped and ready for a little rest. She's a little blurry - it was a quick shot and I wasn't steady and was trying to capture her face before she moved.   xo - Em

Sock monkey!

Look what I found at Walgreen's in the pet section - a squeaky toy sock monkey for dogs. Ellie LOVES it! She has proudly removed much of the stuffing and had it altered to her liking but adding holes in the monkey. Silly dog! Right now it's her toy of choice when playing. Will see how long Monkey can survive.

Recipe OD

Uuggghhhh...I think I have thousands, literally, of recipes. From the ones I've written down, been given to me by family and friends, clipped from magazines and newspapers, to the couple of dozen recipe books I have. Could this be an obsession? Maybe I'm a recipe hoarder? Nevertheless, those tempting pictures of delish delights call to me. With good intentions I clip them out and add them to one of my recipe boxes. Sometimes I try them but usually I don't. Thursday I took on the task of going through one of my recipe boxes. It was an eye-opener! How many chocolate chip recipes does a gal need? Seriously! I even had a few recipes in there more than once - the SAME RECIPE! Oh my! I've pared it down considerably - keeping the tried and true ones my family loves, and the ones I really, really want to try. Maybe in a few weeks I'll revisit the box and see if there are any more I can part with. xo - Em