Rain and Sewing

Another weekend in the cool mountains.

This weekend brought rain and hail each day in the afternoon/late evening. You can see we took Kendall's work truck to have the proper equipment needed for the work Kendall did in preparation for the stone fireplace we're going to have put in within a few weeks.
The view from the front door Friday evening.

We have a "seasonal creek" that comes to life when it rains. The water flows down the hill behind the back of the cabin - a nice view from the kitchen window.

My weekend was spent using my birthday present from Kendall. Something in the cabin brings out the domestic goddess in me! Maybe it's a throwback to the '50's. I made 3 aprons and a skirt. I started with easy projects since it's been a few decades since I used a sewing machine! I hope the mother of the apron recipients doesn't look too closely to the stitching!!

S'mores at The Cabin

The S'mores at the cabin proved to be a hit with the homemade marshmallows. Yummy, yummy!!

Homemade Marshmallows

I had several requests for the recipe, so I'll include the link for you to try yourself.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/HOMEMADE-MARSHMALLOWS-242701

Last weekend while relaxing at the cabin I read an article in bon appetit about homemade marshmallows. I thought - how hard can it be? So this weekend I whipped up a batch. The final batch coated in powdered sugar

In a cup of homemade hot cocoa Sunday morning

An adventure dipped in some warm chocolate fondue this evening. Oh the limitless possibilities when you add the element of chocolate! Can anyone say S'Mores at the cabin??

Monsoon Storm

Just a few short hours ago we were lounging in the pool after church and lunch. Now it's the afternoon rain that we get this time of year when it's Monsoon Season. The pool was a wonderful 90+ degrees.

Bunko Looser

Last night was my monthly Bunko night out with 12 friends. We receive prizes for the most wins, the most losses, and the most Bunkos. Last night I was fortunate enough to have the most losses! We get fabulous prizes!

From a Bunco (Bunko) Website:http://www.buncorules.com/whatis.html

Game Overview
Strictly speaking, Bunco is a game of dice, played in rounds. Players take turns rolling the dice and trying to accumulate as many points as possible to win each round. The game is played at tables of four in competing teams of two.
Players score points by rolling three dice and trying to match the number they're supposed to roll for that round. They get a point for each die that rolls the number, and if all three roll the number they score 21 points. They also score 5 points for rolling three of a kind of any other number. They get to keep rolling as long as they score one or more points with each roll. Once they fail to score they pass the dice to their left and the opposing team gets a chance to score.
During each round the teams at the Head Table try to score 21 points. The first team to score 21 points wins the round and play stops. At all other tables play stops when the Head Table play stops and the team with the highest score at each lower table wins the round.
At the end of the round players change seats, the winners at each of the lower tables move up a table, and the losers at the head table move to the lowest table. Players also switch partners at the end of the round, so you never play with the same partner twice in a row.
During play, players track the number of rounds they win and lose as a team, and the number of Buncos scored individually, on their personal scorecard. At the end of the night wins/losses and Buncos are tallied and prizes awarded.
Right.
Now we're going to tell you the truth...
Bunco is a social event. It's a party. It's a blast!
Twelve of us get together once a month, leaving the cares and worries behind, and leaving the kids with their fathers or baby-sitters.

We fall off our diets, snacking on M&Ms, Chex-Mix, or anything else we can get our hands on. We have appetizers, a (usually) delicious dinner, and seconds on dessert. We drink our favorite spritzer, Chardonnay, or Drink-of-the-night, and we talk.
We talk about our kids. About the neighbors. About anyone who didn't show up. About our husbands, our jobs, their jobs, the builder in our community, TV shows, current events, and anything else that might tickle our fancy.
Oh yeah, and we play a silly, mindless dice game with wild abandon, hoping to take home a few more shekels then we arrived with.
Now that's Bunco.

Long 4th of July Weekend

The weekend at the cabin was a mixture of sunshine, rain and rainbows

A rainbow from the family room

The Day Lilies are in bloom

We're enjoying our subscription to Cabin Life that Jason gave us for Christmas

The town was all decked out for the 4th of July weekend

The County Courthouse

And of course there was a parade. This is actually the rodeo parade that was held on Saturday, the 5th. The town hosts the oldest consecutive running rodeo in the country.

The Farmall International Club had a float

There were a lot of 'pooper scoopers' in the mix that followed the horses. They each had their own theme.

Lots of women on horses.

Someone I knew walking with the Arizona Nurses Association.

Some people had a different vantage point from the hotel where they were staying.

Stage Coaches

Fire Trucks

Trick ropers

Queens and Princesses

And All the Fun Between the Reunions

At the family auction for the first family reunion Emma helped me to 'win' 7 grain flour that was milled locally. Of course we had to schedule a date to make bread with it. Rachel all dressed, hands washed and ready to help.

Here Emma is helping to add flour. They took turns adding the ingredients.

The 3 of us each had our own bowl of dough that we kneaded and formed into loaves.

Emma with her loaf

...and Rachel with hers.

Nothing like 2 three year old kids making your birthday cake!

After the bread cooled, Rachel conducted a taste test. It passed with flying colors!

An early trip to the local farmer's market.

The fruit was artistic

It's nice to be able to support locally grown produce. The lettuce for lunch was just like we had out of Mom's garden when we were on the farm.

All four sets of eyes focused on those candles!

Emma planned my birthday party in a volcano/Hawaii theme.

Family Reunion - Paternal

This past weekend was the reunion of Dad's brothers and their descendants. It certainly has grown now that our cousin's kids are having babies!

Uncles Walter & Harold and Dad

Grandma meeting Amanda for the first time


Henry was pretty good handling the youngest of our clan.

Kendall and Mom spending some quite moments among the bustle of the day

Fun to be had by all! Here Asa is getting a helping hand from Uncle Alva.

...and more fun with Whitney and Henry!

Family Reunion - Maternal

It was good to be home in Maryland again and to be able to see so many relatives. The first weekend was the reunion for the descendants of Grandpa's family (Mom's siblings).

This is the family farm from the vantage point of The Knob where the reunion was held.

This is certainly a well scheduled event!

New experiences for some. Here is Asa getting his first motorcycle ride from Cousin Keith with assistance from Cousin April.

The wind picked up on Sunday and the kites were aloft!

The benches for sitting around the fire were constructed from buckets used in the past to collect sap from the Maple trees to turn into Maple Syrup and old boards.

Aunt Lois with Asa and Rachel.

Rachel in dress up clothes that were available for old time style photos.

Noah's turn

Our meal on Saturday was catered by a local Amish woman and her family. Can you say yummy?!

Cousins Noah and Dayne becoming acquainted.

Time for singing - here are the sisters performing a number.

Saturday evening was another fire for marshmallows and an occasional hot dog.

And of course there is always time and room for Katie's during the course of events.